Some Things Never Change
by Dizzy2806
Summary: Sequel to 'Flirtations with Dragons'. Follow the next generation to Hogwarts. Will Draco's overprotectiveness stop Lucretia having a normal teenage life? More summary inside. M for swearing/future chapters. D/G still appear
1. An Interesting Train Ride

**A/N: **Hope you enjoy this! It picks up right after the epilogue of Flirtations with Dragons :)

**Summary: **Sequel to Flirtations with Dragons (you should read it first, it's not too long). Follows the next generation of kids that are attending Hogwarts that you met in Flirtations with Dragons, plus a few more. Draco is overprotective - will Lucretia actually be able to have a normal teenage life? Lot's of twists and turns, and a good bit of drama. M for language and future sex, blah, blah, blah. Read at your own risk xD

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Hogwarts or any of the original Harry Potter characters or any other place/thing/etc. that you recognise from the book.

**1. An Interesting Train Ride**

"Your dad seemed pretty overprotective there", said Danny releasing Lucretia's hand. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him, a smirk playing at her lips that was so much like her fathers. "OK", said Danny with a grin, "even more so than usual"

"Yeah", Lucretia conceded, "he did didn't he? Maybe it's something to do with these", she said nodding down at her chest. Danny followed her eye line and blushed slightly, Lucretia certainly had developed over the holidays, she wasn't the little tomboy who used to push him in the mud anymore. He coughed, looking back up to her, she had an amused look on her face but there was something else in her eyes that he couldn't quite place; "so, did you want me to show you where the prefects carriage is?" he asked breaking the silence, she nodded at him and followed him along the corridor. Lucretia had been made prefect that summer, Danny was one too although he was the year above her, she didn't know who the other fifth year prefect was yet but she was sure she would find out soon enough. Danny pushed open the door to the carriage right at the front of the train and stepped aside so she could go ahead of him. She smiled confidently as she entered the carriage, she had never felt nervous in her entire life, she supposed she got that from her father, he was confident to the point of arrogance on occasion. She was glad she wasn't like her sister who had inherited her mothers tendency to blush when she was nervous or angry. Kara Bones was already in there, she was the sixth year Gryffindor prefect, she smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Lucretia and Danny as they stepped into the carriage. "Do you know who the second prefect is this year?" asked Lucretia. Kara opened her mouth to answer but the carriage door opened to reveal Jonas Dysai. Lucretia sighed, of course it would be him, the arrogant, ice cold blonde was bound to be prefect because of his perfect grades and his popularity. He and Lucretia did not get on, although they were both as popular as one another he was adamant that she should be in Slytherin and had somehow cheated her way into Gryffindor. Lucretia knew it wasn't true but she was sick of letting it bother her, she belonged in Gryffindor, all her family on her mothers side were sorted there, so why shouldn't she belong?

* * *

"I'm telling you, it will be the best prank ever!" Max said confidently to his twin and his cousin.

"I'm not convinced", said Orion looking at his brother, "it needs something else"

"How about this?" said Alfie holding up a packet of itching powder.

"Where did you get that?!" asked Orion and Max in awe.

"Uncle George", said Alfie with a wicked grin. The twins looked back at him, a mischievous glint in their eye, "so who do we use it on?" Alfie asked. The twins sat back on their seats and contemplated the question. Before they could come up with a suitable target they saw their sister rush passed the window of their compartment in a flurry of blonde hair, she was clearly in tears. "Whoever did that to Lucie", said Max.

"No one hurts our sister and gets away with it", added Orion.

"Do you think it was him?" asked Alfie, nodding towards Danny who was passing the compartment a worried look on his face. Before they could answer Danny had doubled back and slid open the door of their compartment, "have you seen your sister?" he asked.

"Which one?" said Max, feigning innocence.

"Lucie!" Danny said, somewhat impatiently.

"Yeah, she came passed and went down the train, who made her cry?"

"That bloody idiot Jonas Dysai!" Danny exclaimed before crashing out of the compartment and heading down the train. "Looks like we've got our first target boys", said Alfie, pouring the contents of the itching powder into the bottle of cologne that the twins had taken from their fathers bin.

* * *

"Lucie!" Danny called, finally catching up with her as she was about to enter her compartment, "are you OK?" he asked, taking in her red rimmed eyes and tear streaked face. Her bottom lip trembled, he knew from a lifetime of experience that that meant that she was about to cry. He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back as she sobbed against him, he would curse Jonas into oblivion for this, he waited until her sobs subsided until he let her go, then he turned his head away so that she could clean herself up, he knew she hated anyone looking at her when she was crying. "Better?" he asked when she had finished drying her eyes.

"Yeah", she said, her voice a little thick.

"You know, he had no right saying something like that to you"

"I know", she said, nodding, "thanks for uhm, you know …" she said looking away.

"No problem", he replied, "I'll see you later", he said giving her a smile before turning and marching back up the train to make sure Jonas was really sorry for making Lucretia cry. Lucretia watched him out of sight before opening the door of her compartment. She was greeted by her two best friends and cousins; Roxanne and Amelia. "Where's Vicky?" she asked, throwing herself into the seat next to Amelia. Victoire was the year above them but she generally stuck with them outside classes. "She went to find Teddy I think", said Roxanne with a wink, "you know, I think those two might be more than just friends". Lucretia allowed her eyes to widen at this new piece of information. Teddy Lupin was head boy and pretty much part of the family, his parents had been members of the Order who had been killed in the war. He was brought up by his Grandmother Andromeda who was Lucretia's great aunt. "Really?" asked Lucretia, "that is an interesting development", she said tapping her wand on her knee.

"Are you alright Luce?" asked Roxanne.

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"You seem distracted"

"Yeah, you can't lie to us - spill", said Amelia, putting down the magazine she had been reading.

"I just had a run in with Jonas"

"Another one?!"

"What did he say this time?"

"Oh the usual, your father was a death eater, you don't deserve to be in Gryffindor …" Lucretia averted her eyes and hoped that they would let the matter drop, she should have known that they wouldn't. "Oh come on Lucie", said Roxanne, "we know that doesn't bother you, what did he really say?"

"He said that my mother would never have married my father willingly and that he must have forced her and … and she must despise us all because we tied her to him and made it impossible for her to leave him", she reeled out, her voice breaking at the end of the sentence. Her two friends looked outraged and they leant in to comfort her immediately, reassuring her that no one who saw her parents together would think that was true for a second.

* * *

Danny took his wand out from his pocket as he thundered down the trains corridor looking for the compartment where Jonas was no doubt laughing about his comments to Lucretia while she was no doubt feeling hurt and miserable. "Whoa there Dan!" said a voice from his left. He stopped and looked, seeing that he was passing the twins' and Alfie's compartment again. "What?" he snarled, "I have somewhere to be"

"If you were thinking about hexing Jonas you don't need to bother", said Orion smirking. Danny raised his eyebrows and lowered his wand before stepping into the boys compartment and slamming the door shut. "What have you done?" he asked.

"We gave him a present", said Max, his face a picture of innocence.

"What kind of present?"

"Just some aftershave"

"What does it do?"

"Several things", said Orion, an evil smile creeping onto his face, Danny couldn't help it, a smile burst across his face before he could stop it. "What exactly?" he asked. The boys, noticing the change in his tone, grinned at one another before Alfie spoke; "Well it has itching powder in, some sort of potion that causes boils in erm… interesting places … oh and that spot cream that Uncle George sells - except, kind of reversed"

"Kind of?"

"It causes serious acne", said Orion looking triumphant. Danny stared at the three boys in amazement, he had no idea how they had managed to do this but he was incredibly grateful that he would not be getting detention for transfiguring Jonas into a slug. "Boys, I don't know how you do it … but well done"

"You're not going to put us in detention are you?" asked Max.

"Not this time boys, not this time", he said with a laugh, opening the compartment door and sliding out of it before closing the door again and setting off down the train, an new spring in his step.

* * *

"And just where have you been lady?" demanded Lucretia as Victoire entered the compartment, her silvery blonde hair looking tousled and her cheeks slightly flushed. "Sorry?" she asked, looking round to see that it was only Lucretia in the compartment, "where are the others?" she asked sitting herself down opposite Lucretia.

"They've gone to change. Don't change the subject"

"I've just been around you know, catching up with people", she said smoothing her hair.

"That's one word for it"

"Sorry?"

"Oh c'mon Vicky. We know you and Teddy are more than just good friends"

"What? … you, you do?" she asked.

"Of course"

"You're not … not mad at me?"

"Of course not, why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I thought … I thought that you liked him?"

"Eww, no Vicky, that's gross, we're related!"

"Not closely, I though you …"

"No, no, no. Stop! I don't, or have ever, liked Teddy as more than a friend!"

"Oh good", said Victoire, visibly relaxing.

"Is that why you haven't told us?"

"Yes"

"Well now that we've cleared that up, you two can stop sneaking round!"

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmede a few hours later, the night sky already peppered with stars, Lucretia looked up and smiled, taking in a breath of fresh air. She loved the stars, and she loved Hogwarts, she was so glad to be back after the seemingly endless summer holidays. It wasn't that she didn't love being at home with her family, she just missed the freedom that came with school, she could do what she wanted, within reason, without her father watching her every move. She knew that he meant well, he was just so damn overprotective, sometimes she felt like she would never grow up. "You coming?" Roxanne's voice broke into her stream of thought. "Of course I am", she said falling into step with her and Amelia, glancing around for her siblings, she saw the twins with Alfie and Octavia with Yelena Zabini. Her eyes swept over Victoire and Teddy who were holding hands, the sight made her smile as she turned to look towards the carriages again she momentarily caught Danny's eye. He was happy to see that she was smiling again, the thought brought a smile to his own face as he walked towards the carriages with his friends. He had a feeling that this would be a good year. Lucretia pulled herself up into the carriage and sat facing Roxanne and Amelia. "What are you so happy about?" asked Amelia. Lucretia looked up at her, "I'm just really happy for Teddy and Vicky", she said smiling wistfully. Roxanne and Amelia exchanged a look, before turning to look out the window at the tall, handsome, dark haired, blue eyed boy who was waiting to get into one of the carriages. They had a feeling that he was what was really putting a smile on their best friends face.


	2. Sorting and Surprises

**2. Sorting and Surprises**

Lucretia took a grateful drink of pumpkin juice as her stomach rumbled lightly, she wished they would get on with the sorting, she was starving. She fiddled with a piece of her hair, twisting it round her finger absently. "Thinking of something?" asked Amelia.

"Or someone?" said Roxanne suggestively.

"I'm wondering whether it would be too much hassle to get this over with so I can eat!"

Roxanne and Amelia laughed. Danny turned back to the conversation he had been having with his friends about quidditch, he had momentarily been pulled from the conversation when he had heard Roxanne ask Lucretia if she had been thinking of someone. He looked round sharply to wait for her answer, the thought of Lucretia even thinking about dating made him feel funny although he couldn't think why. Once she had given her answer he visibly relaxed and let out the breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding before turning back to his conversation. Danny's actions did not go unnoticed by Amelia who smiled knowingly, she had been right to guess what she had, she just needed to find a way of getting them together, any fool could see that they would be the perfect couple. Everyone except them it seemed, but she had definitely seen the flash of jealousy that crossed Danny's handsome face when he heard Roxanne's comment. Before Amelia could whisper in Roxanne's ear about what she had heard the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Longbottom walked in with the stool and the sorting hat, followed by a line of tiny first years, all of whom looked terrified, even the twins and Alfie looked troubled and they told anyone who listened that they weren't bothered about what house they went to, they could cause trouble anywhere.

Lucretia tuned out as the sorting began, her brother's and cousin wouldn't be sorted until towards the end. She remembered just in time that Danny's sister Jade was starting at Hogwarts this term and snapped out of her daze in time to hear her being sorted into Gryffindor, she clapped and cheered loudly along with the rest of the house as Jade shakily made her way to an empty seat and beamed at her brother. Danny grinned back before turning his head and winking at Lucretia who smiled at him. Roxanne and Amelia nudged one another and hurridly started whispering behind their hands when they saw the exchange. All too soon it was the twins turn to be sorted; "Malfoy, Maximus" Professor Longbottom called. Max walked confidently up to the stool and jammed the hat on his head; "Slytherin!" the hat called after a moment. Max pulled the hat off and headed off towards the cheering Slytherin table, Lucretia frowned slightly and raised her eyebrows at Octavia who shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Malfoy, Orion", Professor Longbottom called again. Orion followed his twin to Slytherin, the hat taking the exact same amount of time to decide his fate as it had his brother. Lucretia looked towards the Slytherin table and smiled at her brothers, they waved cheerily back at her, she was impressed, they really didn't care where they ended up. Professor Longbottom continued through the list of students until he got to "Weasley, Alfred". Alfie stood up and walked to the stool, just as confidently as his partners in crime had been. The hat took several minutes to decide Alfie's fate, the entire Great Hall was deathly silent and then the hat called out "Slytherin!" and Alfie hopped off the stool to take his place next to the Malfoy twins on the Slytherin table. Roxanne and Amelia sat stunned next to Lucretia who was shocked herself. "I can't believe my brother's gone to Slytherin!" Amelia exclaimed.

"So have mine", said Lucretia with a slight frown.

"Yeah but, your dad was a Slytherin, it's not that weird, there hasn't been a Weasley in Slytherin since …" Roxanne tailed off, unsure of how to end her sentence.

"Ever", supplied Amelia, of course she would know, she wasn't Hermione Granger's daughter for nothing, "there has never been a Weasley in Slytherin", she continued, her face pale. All of a sudden her face cracked into a wide grin; "dad's going to be so pissed", she said starting to laugh. Lucretia and Roxanne both took a second to imagine their uncle Ron's reaction before joining Amelia in her giggling fit.

* * *

"Can I have your attention?!" called the headmistress from the front of the middle of the teachers table. All eyes focused immediately on Professor McGonagall as she addressed the school. "Now as you know Professor Mooney, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher retired at the end of the last school year. However, I am delighted to announce his replacement is non other that the highly accomplished Auror, Harry Potter!" Whispers filled the hall immediately before everyone burst out into cheers and applause. Lucretia clapped politely, she knew her father and Harry Potter hadn't got on when they were at school, she also knew that her mum used to date him so he couldn't be all bad. She vaguely remembered his leaving party when he and his wife Cho had emigrated to Australia, she had been three at the time if her memory was correct. Clearly he was back, she looked to her left and noticed that Danny wasn't clapping at all, this was unlike him, he was always respectful of authority and she couldn't understand what he could have against Harry Potter, he was however the saviour of the wizarding world, even her father was grudgingly grateful for that. "… Now if you are all finished, follow your prefects up to your house common rooms, goodnight!" called Professor McGonagall. There was the usual deafening noise as the entire school got up. Lucretia hurried to the end of the table and called for the first years to follow her and Kara, she ignored Jonas' presence and Danny had not appeared to do his duty. She frowned, something had to be wrong but she just couldn't work out what, she knew Danny as well as she knew herself and yet this had her well and truly stumped. She began leading the first years up the stairs towards the Gryffindor Tower her mind positively buzzing with thought.

* * *

"Alright Roxie?"

Roxanne turned on the stairs to see that James Clearwater had caught up with her. "Hi", she said, "how was your summer?"

"Oh you know, the usual, mum bitching about dad again", he said rolling her eyes. Roxanne smiled sympathetically, James' mother Penelope was a friend of her uncle Percy's so she knew that his father had left his mother before he was born without so much as a knut or an address. Penelope was famously bitter about it, she had never moved on from the experience. "So how was your summer?" James asked her, "do anything exciting?"

"We went to visit my uncle Charlie in Romania"

"Nice, he's the one that works with dragons right?"

"That's the one", she said, "well done", she added teasingly, no one but members of her family usually remembered exactly which of her uncle's were which. "I've been practicing", said James jokingly. They continued their conversation up to the Gryffindor tower laughing along the way. Roxanne had always got on with James, he didn't have many close friends and she was glad that he could trust her. "Well", she said once they were in the common room, "I'm off to bed, I'll see you tomorrow", she said waving to him as she ascended the stairs to her dorm. She closed the door to find that she was the last of her friend's to make it up the stairs. Amelia was curled up on her bed reading a book, Roxanne rolled her eyes, she was so much like her mother. Lucretia was sat cross legged on her bed writing a letter. "Who are you writing to?" asked Roxanne as she pulled her robes off. "My mother", said Lucretia with a smile before turning back to her letter;

_Dear Mum,_

_We got here safely (of course). Max and Orion got sorted into Slytherin, of course they aren't bothered about it but I know dad will be thrilled. Alfie got sorted there too, we are all convinced uncle Ron is going to have a heart attack - I'm sure it will amuse dad though, although I'm sure he'll get the blame for it! The other prefect is Jonas Dysai - I'm obviously not thrilled about it, but I have Kara and Danny as well so things should be fine. Teddy and Vicky are finally together - we're all thrilled for them. _

_There was something I was wondering about though. Do you know if Danny's parents had any kind of falling out with Harry Potter? I know it's an odd question but he's our new Defence professor and Danny was really out of sorts when McGonagall announced it. I haven't seen him to ask him about it yet - I was just wondering if you knew anything about it._

_Octavia and the twins send their love. Lots of love to you and dad,_

_Lucretia. _

Lucretia folded the letter to her mother up and attached it to her beautiful barn owl Dora. "Hold on a second", she said quietly to her, "I've got another one for you" she said, quickly scribbling a short note;

_Danny,_

_You didn't seem yourself at dinner. Don't even think about denying it, I don't want to push you, but if you want to talk you know where I am. You know you can trust me, _

_Lucie_

"Here", she said attaching the note to Dora's other leg, "deliver this one first, you know where he is", she said. Dora hooted softly before soaring out of the open window. Lucretia watched her fly up to the window that belonged to the dorm of the sixth year Gryffindor's and smiled before closing the window.

* * *

Danny pulled the note of the owl and thanked Dora before closing the window and heading back to his bed. He pulled the hangings around him and ignited his wand before unfolding the note. He knew who it was from of course, he and Lucretia often sent notes to one another when they hadn't seen each other during the day. She was his best friend, she understood him more than anyone. He read the small note and smiled, of course she had noticed, how could she not notice. He sighed, he didn't know if he should tell her, he knew he could trust her, of course she wouldn't tell, he just wasn't even sure if he could admit it to her, it would make it all too real. He sunk back against the pillows and extinguished his wand, he would decide in the morning. He fell asleep almost immediately, Lucretia's letter clutched tightly in his hand.

* * *

Draco watched his wife read the letter that he knew was from Lucretia as she munched on a slice of toast, he was slightly put out that his daughter hadn't written to him but he knew it was stupid. He watched as Ginny's expression changed from happy, to shocked to amused, to worry and then she smiled again before putting the letter down. "What's wrong?" asked Draco, the look of worry had registered most prominently in his mind. "She wants to know about Danny", said Ginny, biting her bottom lip. "What about him?" asked Draco sharply, he was starting to worry about the exact nature of his daughters relationship with his godson. "Harry is their new Defence teacher", Ginny began, "of course, Danny obviously didn't react with much enthusiasm and Lucie wants to know why … you know how perceptive she is"

"Especially when it comes to him", said Draco stiffly, "will you tell her?"

"It's not really my place is it", said Ginny shaking her head, "will you stop fretting about her", she said sharply, "do you want to know where your sons were sorted?"

"Where?" asked Draco, certain that he would have two more Gryffindor children.

"Slytherin", said Ginny.

"Really?" asked Draco, his eyes lighting up with pride.

"Yes", said Ginny, amused, "so has Alfie, you know, I think you may have a lot to answer for to Ron", she said raising her eyebrows. She doubted if Draco even heard her, he was too busy grinning like a maniac at the news that his sons had been sorted into his old house.


	3. Defence Against the Dark Arts

**3. Defence Against the Dark Arts**

Lucretia walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast having enjoyed a fully enjoyable sleep, she was in a good mood as she made her way to the table, settling herself down next to Amelia and sending a tentative smile in Danny's direction, she knew that he would have got her letter, but she didn't know how he reacted to it. To her relief he smiled back at her and nodded at her silent look that asked him if he was OK. She felt even happier than she had done as she turned to her plate to tuck into her fried eggs on toast, "what?" she said to Amelia who was eyeing her with an amused look on her face. "Nothing", she said, turning back to her own plate with a smirk playing about her lips thinking it was about time she wrote to her mother. Professor Longbottom walked down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables handing out timetables to the Gryffindor's. Lucretia took hers eagerly, she had Potions first followed by Defence Against the Dark Arts and double Herbology before lunch. After lunch she had Charms, Astronomy and Transfiguration. As soon as she had her timetable she hurried off to Potions with Amelia; "where is Roxie?" she asked as they walked across the entrance hall towards the dungeons. "I don't know", said Amelia as they descended the steps, "I didn't see her at breakfast and she had left the dorm before, oh!" she said, "there you are". Roxanne looked up at the sound of her friend's voice and smiled. "How come you weren't at breakfast?" asked Lucretia suspiciously looking from her to James Clearwater. "I was", said Roxanne, "you must not have seen me". Lucretia narrowed her eyes, she wasn't convinced that Roxanne was telling the truth but before she could ask any more questions the door of the classroom opened and Professor Slughorn ushered them all inside.

* * *

"Oh come on it wasn't that bad!" said Amelia as they left the Potions classroom, Roxanne had been muttering under her breath about all the things that had gone wrong with her infusion. Roxanne gave Amelia a death glare before saying "it's easy for you to say when your hair is perfect". The other two girls started giggling at once, Lucretia recovered first and drew her wand, pointing it at Roxanne she muttered something under her breath and her glossy, dark waves returned to perfection at once. Amelia's eyes widened and Roxanne gingerly touched her hair before a smile spread across her face; "where did you learn that?" she demanded.

"My grandmother", said Lucretia, stowing her wand back in her robes.

"Which one?"

"Nana Malfoy of course"

"I wish she was my grandmother", said Amelia awestruck.

"You have to teach me that spell!" exclaimed Roxanne, grabbing her friends arm as they ascended the stairs up to their Defence Against the Dark Arts class. When they got there they found that the rest of their class had already arrived even though there was still five minutes until the start of the lesson; Amelia snorted, "of course everyone wants to get a good seat"

"What do you mean?" asked Lucretia.

"You know, saviour of the wizarding world - they all want a good look"

"Plus he's still relatively young" added Roxanne, throwing a look at a group of giggling girls.

"That's disgusting, he's my dad's age", said Lucretia, "but aren't you a bit curious?"

"Curious about what? I see him all the time, he's my parents best mate", said Amelia.

"He lives in Australia", Lucretia pointed out.

"Lived", corrected Amelia, "he moved back this summer when he got this job"

"So where does he live now?"

"Godric's Hollow I think, why are you so interested anyway?"

"He's friends with my mum, I would have thought he'd have visited her"

"Oh no", said Roxanne, "I overheard mum talking to Fleur a few months back, apparently Harry's wife had banned him from going anywhere near your mum"

"Why?"

"Because she's insanely paranoid, she's convinced that he still loves your mum and would run off with her first chance he got"

"That's crazy, my mum and dad have been married for almost seventeen years, there's no way he could still be in love with her"

"Yeah, but didn't you know that Harry tried to stop your mum marrying your dad?"

"What?!"

Roxanne leaned closer to tell Lucretia the story but before she could start the door of the classroom banged open and the assembled students jumped. "Come on in", said Professor Potter with a smile. The class started filing in; "I'll tell you later", Roxanne whispered into Lucretia's ear as they walked through the door.

"Now, as you know, my name is Professor Potter and I will be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts, now you're in your fifth year which means that you will be sitting your OWLs in the summer, it is my job to make sure that you pass with the highest mark possible. Now today we shall start today by learning about the three unforgivable curses. Any questions?" he said looking around the class. No one said anything. "Good. Now can anyone give me the name one of the three unforgivable curses?" No one in the class raised a hand even though they probably all knew the answers, for some reason this wound Lucretia up, she raised her own hand in the air. The Professor pointed at her and she lowered her hand; "the Avada Kedavra Sir", she said confidently. Harry smiled a little at her boldness, he remembered when Hermione had answered the question years ago her voice had shook. "Very good Miss …?"

"Malfoy, Sir"

"Ah, well Miss Malfoy, you have named the worst of the three curses, I assume you know what it does?"

"It's the killing curse", she said simply.

"Well done, ten points to …?"

"Gryffindor, Sir". Harry raised his eyebrows at this but he made no comment.

"Very well, can anyone name another?"

"The Imperious Curse Sir", said Roxanne without raising her hand.

"That's right Miss … Weasley? Am I right?"

"Yes, Sir"

"And which Weasley would you be?"

"I'm Roxie Weasley, my parents are George and Angelina"

"Of course, I know both your parents", he said with a smile, "now the final unforgivable?"

Amelia raised her hand looking slightly apprehensive, Lucretia vaguely wondered why, after all she had been the one who was thoroughly unimpressed that Harry was her new Professor. "Yes Miss Weasley?" said Harry smiling at her.

"The Cruciatus Curse", she said, he voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes, the Cruciatus Curse, arguably worse than the Avada Kedavra, it is the torturing curse. Of course many witches and wizards were subjected to it during the first and second war, and some even between them", he said gravely.

"Like my mother", said Amelia softly.

"Yes, like your mother", said Harry, "she was brave and survived the curse without any lasting damage to herself, others however, were not as lucky. Now. These curses are illegal, the use of any of them will earn you a nice long stretch in Azkaban"

"Sir, if the curses are illegal, why are you not in Azkaban?" asked Jonas Dysai.

"I'm sorry, Mr …?"

"Dysai, Sir"

"Well Mr Dysai, can I ask what you mean?"

"You killed he who must not be named, you must have used an unforgivable curse"

"I have never cast the Avada Kedavra curse in my life", said Harry, "Lord Voldemort was killed by his own rebounding curse"

"Then you didn't actually kill him", said Jonas. Lucretia rolled her eyes; "don't you read", she said swivelling in her chair to face Jonas before Harry could comment, "clearly not, because if you did you would realise that the curse rebounded because Professor Potter sent a disarming spell at Lord Voldemort, when the curses collided in mid air the curse rebounded because Lord Voldemort had tried to curse Professor Potter using a wand that he had not won the allegiance of - the wand in question was in fact a Hallow, and had given its allegiance to Professor Potter and therefore refused to kill him", she said. Harry smirked, Jonas was clearly dumbfounded by what Lucretia had just said, he was impressed that she knew the history of the War so well, he predicted she would do well in her History of Magic essay on the topic. "Yeah and we know how upset your Death Eater daddy was when his Master was killed!" Jonas shot back suddenly. Harry saw Lucretia's face fall and her eyes immediately shine with tears, her hand twitched towards her wand but Harry was faster; "detention Mr Dysai, I will not have unfounded accusations of this nature in my classroom"

"But Sir, everyone knows that her father was a Death Eater!"

"He was not!" screamed Lucretia, getting to her feet.

"Enough!" Harry bellowed, "Miss Malfoy take a seat. Now Mr Dysai I will tell you this once and only once and I mean it. Miss Malfoy's father was not a Death Eater, he is not branded with the Dark Mark, I know this because I interrogated him myself, he was threatened into Lord Voldemort's services and he would have been killed had he refused and his family no doubt killed. Do you understand Mr Dysai? Now if I hear that you have been bullying Miss Malfoy or any other student I will make sure that there are consequences, do you understand?"

"Yes Sir", said Jonas, hanging his head. The rest of the room stared at Professor Potter in awe and the rest of the lesson passed without incident.

They were released early so they had time to head down to the greenhouses where they would be spending the next two hours. Lucretia had forgotten what Roxanne had been about to tell her before their Defence class because she was too angry with Jonas, he had never said anything like that to her before, not in front of that many people anyway. She supposed he was showing off, he may even have thought that the Professor would back him up, she smirked a little at that, if that was his idea it had certainly backfired. Lucretia opened her bag once she had set it down on the benches in the greenhouse and cursed. "What is it?" asked Amelia.

"I must have left my quill in Defence", she groaned.

"You could ask if you could leave early and get it, I'm sure Professor Longbottom won't mind"

"Yeah you're right", said Lucretia and headed towards the other side of the greenhouse where the Professor was showing a group the correct way to collect the leaves from the plant that they were working on. "Yes Miss Malfoy?" he asked kindly as she approached him.

"I'm sorry Sir, but I left my quill in Defence, I have another one but I was wondering if I could leave a few minutes early so I could catch the Professor before he leaves for lunch?"

"Yes of course Miss Malfoy, I shall let you know when you can leave"

"Thank you so much Professor". Lucretia made her way back to the plant she was working on with Roxanne and Amelia and they worked in relative silence, not discussing anything of importance as they knew that Jonas was only a few feet away listening to every word they were saying. "Miss Malfoy you may leave now", called Professor Longbottom fifteen minutes before the end of class. "Thank you Professor", said Lucretia gathering her things and leaving the greenhouse, ignoring the gaze of Jonas.

* * *

Danny had managed to get through three quarters of his Defence lesson without Harry Potter talking to him, he kept his head down and concentrated on his work. He didn't trust himself to speak, he had no idea what would spill out of his mouth. He had known since he was old enough to understand that Seamus wasn't his real father, however, his parents had always assured him that it didn't matter and they loved him exactly the same as his sisters. He had accepted the fact, as far as he was concerned Seamus was his father and he had no desire to learn the identity of his real father. However, when he was eleven curiosity got the better of him and he asked his mother who his real father was, he had been shocked when she revealed that it was in fact Harry Potter, he had read about him growing up, heard about him from Lucretia and her cousins. He had no idea, his mother told him all about how Harry hadn't been ready to be a father and how she had been looked after by Seamus, how Seamus was there when he was born and how he had adopted him when they got married. He had always harboured resentment for the Chosen One from that day on, and now, to be in the same room as him was killing him, he was doing everything he could to focus and not make a scene. He checked his watch. Ten minutes till the end of class. He wondered if he ever thought about him. He guessed not. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Stacey Turner asking a question; "Sir, will your children be attending Hogwarts?" He snapped his head up, suddenly he was interested.

"No", said Harry simply.

"Why not Sir?" she asked. Danny's heart hammered, did he have other brothers or sisters?

"Because I don't have any children", said Harry with finality. That did it. Something inside Danny snapped, he grabbed his bag and slammed his way out of the classroom without a backwards glance.

He didn't watch where he was going as he stormed down the corridor, he could hear some of the portraits making comments about his emotional state and wondering why he wasn't in class. He wasn't in the mood to listen to any of them. He hit someone with his shoulder and didn't even stop to apologise, "Danny?!" he heard someone call him, probably the person he hit. "Danny?!" the voice was following him, he wanted to tell them to go away but he couldn't get the words out. "Danny!" They had finally caught him, he felt a hand close around his wrist. He spun around, ready to tell who ever it was to piss off and leave him alone, his words died in his throat when he stared into her honey coloured eyes. It felt as if his heart broke as he looked at her and he was powerless to stop the tears that streamed down his face, why did it have to be her that found him? The one person he knew he couldn't stop himself confessing to, maybe it would be easier if she knew? Before he knew what was happening she had pulled him into an empty classroom and locked the door. "Danny, what's wrong? What's happened to you?" she asked, her voice full of concern. He was vaguely aware of her hands clasped around his upper arms forcing him to look at her. He couldn't look at her when she told him, he couldn't bear to see the confusion and the hurt that he didn't confide her in her eyes. He pulled her to his chest and cried. She held him back, running her hands up and down his back gently as he leant his cheek against the top of her head, she was the perfect height he felt himself thinking. She didn't say a word while he cried in her arms, she knew he would tell him, but she knew how hard it was for him. Finally he stilled but he didn't pull away, "I have something to tell you", he whispered.


	4. Detention in the Dungeons

**4. Detention in the Dungeons**

The door of the classroom suddenly burst open and Danny and Lucretia jumped apart and whipped round to see who the intruder was. Of course it was Professor Potter; "Mr Finnigan", he said coldly, "I've finally caught up with you"

"Sir", said Danny stiffly.

"And Miss Malfoy, I'm surprised at you, where should you be now?"

"Herbology Sir but …"

"No buts Miss Malfoy, detention for both of you tonight"

"But Sir!" began Danny.

"What did I just say about buts Mr Finnigan, if you insist on seeing one another you can do so in detention where you won't be wasting mine or Professor Longbottom's time"

"Sir, I was excused from Herbology to come and get my quill from your class!"

"And yet you didn't come to my class, you seem to have got lost along the way"

"Danny was upset Sir, I -"

"Enough Miss Malfoy, my punishment stands, you and Mr Finnigan will assist Professor Slughorn in the dungeons from seven o'clock tonight". With that the Professor swept from the room and Lucretia turned back to Danny who was avoiding her eyes. "Danny?"

"I've got your quill", he said, thrusting it into her hands, "I found it on my desk"

"Thanks, look about what -"

"I'm sorry I got you into trouble"

"No, I didn't mean that"

"I know, look, can we just go to lunch, I don't want to do this here", he said and before she could reply he had walked out of the classroom. She caught up with him in the corridor and walked in step with him all the way to the Great Hall, neither of them said a word, but both of them were glad that the other was there.

"Where have you been?" demanded Roxanne as soon as Lucretia threw herself down onto the bench next to her with a disgruntled sigh. Amelia, however, was more interested in who she had walked into the Great Hall with, Danny had gone to sit with his friends and he looked as frustrated as Lucretia, and even a tiny bit upset. She frowned; "did something happen with Danny?" she asked.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"You came in with him, and you both look pretty pissed, did something happen?"

"Yeah, we were talking in an empty classroom, and Potter found us and gave us detention"

"What?! For just talking?!"

"Are you sure you two weren't doing more than that?" Roxanne asked raising her eyebrows.

"Of course we weren't", snapped Lucretia, "but it was during class time"

"Did you not explain about your quill?"

"I tried to, but he didn't give me the chance", said Lucretia miserably.

"So you didn't get it back?"

"No, I did, Danny got it for me, he was in the class after us and he saw it". The girls fell silent but Roxanne and Amelia exchanged a significant look behind their blonde friends head. "I know what'll cheer you up", said Roxanne after a minute.

"What?" asked Lucretia looking up hopefully.

"There's going to be a Halloween Ball!" she exclaimed.

"Really?! How do you know?"

"Vicky got it from Teddy who obviously knows because he's head boy"

"What years?"

"Five to seven as far as I know, I think fourth years are allowed if an older student takes them"

"Well we don't need to worry about that"

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what are we going to wear?! Who are we going to go with?!"

Lucretia and Amelia rolled their eyes at one another at Roxanne's outburst, trust her to start fretting about something that was weeks away.

* * *

"Come in!" Professor McGonagall looked up from her paper work to see Professor Potter enter her office. "Harry!" she greeted enthusiastically, "what can I do for you? Sit"

Harry did as he was told; "Thank you headmistress", he said, accepting the cup of tea she offered to him. "So what brings you here?"

"I think I might have a problem", he admitted.

"Already? On your first day?" she chuckled.

"It's about one of my sixth year students, I think there might be some, ah, conflict"

"Between you and the student?"

"Yes?"

"Who is this student?"

"Danny Finnigan"

"Mr Finnigan is one of the school's best students, we have never had any problems with him"

"But I think he may have a problem with me"

"Why would that be?"

"Because, he's my son"

"Sorry?"

"Danny is my biological son"

"But … Seamus … ?"

"Seamus adopted him when he married Romilda, not many people know Danny's real parentage"

"But you think that Danny has been made aware of it?"

"Romilda told me that she would make him aware when he was old enough"

"I see, I take it Mr Finnigan was not very understanding"

"He was fine, right up until the end of class when he suddenly stood up and stormed out"

"Could something have triggered his actions?" Professor McGonagall pressed. A flash of understanding crossed Harry's features before it was replaced by an expression of immense guilt; "I think I might know what upset him", he whispered.

"Go on …"

"Another student asked me if my children would be attending Hogwarts, and I … I …"

"You what?"

"I said that I didn't have any children"

"Ah … I see. Did you catch up with Mr Finnigan"

"Yes, I found him in another classroom with Miss Malfoy"

"Lucretia or Octavia?"

"Erm, Lucretia I assume - the elder one"

"Yes she and Mr Finnigan are incredibly close. What did you say?"

"I gave them both detention"

"I see"

"Perhaps I shouldn't have"

"Well it's done now. May I advise that you do not discuss personal matters within your classroom and perhaps even talk to Mr Finnigan about today's events"

"Yes headmistress"

"Very well Professor, you may go".

* * *

Lucretia hurried down the stone steps to the dungeons, she was running slightly late as she had completely lost track of time doing her Astrology homework. She had assumed that Danny would get her on his way down to the detention but he had not been in the common room all night, in truth she was starting to worry about him. She rounded the corner that led to Professor Slughorn's classroom and almost collided with the man himself; "Professor!" she gasped, "I'm so sorry, I was studying and I lost track of time!"

"That's quite alright Miss Malfoy, Mr Finnigan is in there already, he'll tell you what you are to do. I will be back in a few hours to dismiss you"

"Thank you Professor", she said, before entering the Potions classroom. Danny was sat on a desk, his back to her, slightly hunched over, his legs swinging. She smiled automatically when she saw him, "hey", she said quietly. He turned and smiled at her, she walked over and hopped up onto the desk next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder involuntarily. He smiled and leant his head down so it was leaning against hers and put and arm around her shoulder. "What does Slughorn want us to do?" she asked after a moment. She would have been perfectly content to just sit beside him all night and not do any work, but she knew that it had to be done. "He wanted us to clean the storeroom", said Danny, "but he didn't specify no magic, so it's all done". Lucretia lifted her head up so she could look at Danny's face and grinned mischievously at him. "So we're here for no reason?" she asked.

"I guess so", he replied with a shrug.

"What shall we do then?" she asked hopping off the desk.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Well I could do the rest of my Charms essay, but that's boring. Why don't we talk?"

"What about?"

"We could start with what you were going to tell me earlier before we were rudely interrupted?" she said, raising one eyebrow and watching his reaction carefully. He sighed after a minute. "OK", he said standing up and walking to the front of the classroom, facing away from her. She stayed where she was, knowing that, for whatever reason, he did not want to look her in the eye when he told her whatever it was. "The reason I was so upset after Defence", he began, his voice so quiet Lucretia had to strain to here it, "was because … because, Potter is my, he's my - father", he finally choked out. Lucretia's eyes widened to such a degree that she thought that they would pop out of her head, she couldn't believe what she had heard. "What?" she whispered.

"You heard me!" Danny exclaimed, "fucking Harry fucking Potter is my father!"

Lucretia flinched when he shouted, Danny rarely got angry, and he never shouted at her.

"Danny …" she began, not even sure what she was going to say.

"Don't!", he said spinning round to face her, there were tears in his eyes again, he angrily brushed them aside, "don't give me pity! I don't want your pity, I don't want -" his voice broke. It felt like her heart broke when she saw him in front of her so distraught. Saying nothing she walked to him and pulled his hands away from his face. He tried to jerk them away from her but she held tight. "Lucie! Just let me -"

"No! No I won't let you anything! Don't push me away Danny, don't do that!"

"I don't mean to I just -"

"It's OK"

"No it's not! Why is he here?! Why does he have to be my fucking teacher?! You know, I was fine with this until he was stood right there in front of me! The bastard who left my mum, the fucking bastard who made her an outcast! It's like a slap in the face every time I see him, it reminds me that my dad isn't my dad! That prick is!"

"Danny, Seamus is your dad, biology doesn't matter! He is your dad!"

"How would you feel if you found out Draco wasn't your dad?!"

"I -" Lucretia didn't even know how to answer, it hurt to even think it.

"Exactly", said Danny quietly, hanging his head.

"Danny …"

"What if I'm like him?"

"What?" Lucretia was alarmed at the change in his tone, he sounded almost afraid.

"What if I'm a useless cowardly waste of space like him?! What if I'm worthless like him?!"

"No!" Lucretia nearly screamed, she tugged on his hands, "don't you ever say that! You're not worthless, and you're not useless! You're amazing, you're loving! You're nothing like him, you would never do what he did to your mum!"

"How can you know that?"

"Because I know you", she said, and instinctively she reached up and kissed him. He was so stunned he didn't respond and she pulled away as suddenly as she had kissed him, "I'm sorry", she whispered, "I didn't think, I just -"

Before she could say anything else the dungeon door opened and Professor Slughorn walked through, she dropped Danny's hands immediately and turned to the Professor. He smiled when he saw them and walked straight to the storeroom. "Well you have done an amazing job, well done!" he said kindly, "now before you leave, I thought I'd tell you that the Slug Club is having a small party tomorrow, just a bit of a welcome back party you see. As prefects I expect that you will both be attending?" he asked.

"Yes, of course Professor", said Danny.

"Thank you", added Lucretia.

"Now then, you may go, but first I require a word with you Mr Finnigan, Miss Malfoy you may go - goodnight"

"Goodnight Sir", she said, and she hurried from the classroom, avoiding Danny's eyes. As soon as she was out of the door she ran the whole way to the Gryffindor common room, hoping that whatever Slughorn wanted Danny for kept him there for a good while yet. When she was through the portrait hole she found that the common room was empty, she glanced at the clock, it had gone eleven o'clock but her heart was pounding, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. She crept up the stairs to her dormitory and hid in the shadows until Danny returned. When he got back, not five minutes later, his eyes scanned the room quickly, when he realised no one was there he sighed and headed up the staircase that led to the boys dormitories, looking back a few times. Lucretia let out the breath she had been holding when she heard the click of the door up the opposite staircase before creeping back down the stairs and spreading her Astrology homework out across one of the tables.


	5. Slughorn's Slipup

**A/N: **Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while!! I've been seriously stressing about Uni! Luckily my presentation is out the way so I can concentrate on this a bit more now. Here's the new chapter, it is longer than the others have been so hopefully you'll be satisfied for now. Perhaps it could have been a bit longer but I haven't updated in a while so I thought you lot would just appreciate some new content. Anyway - please read & review and I hope you enjoy! xD

******5. Slughorn's Slip-up**

Danny couldn't sleep. He kept replaying the events of the evening over and over in his head. He mentally kicked himself, he was such an idiot. He had hurried through the meeting with Slughorn as fast as he could, which was easier said than done, he had then tore up to the Gryffindor common room as fast as he possibly could. He should have known she wouldn't be waiting for him, but a part of him had hoped she would be. He sighed, this was no good, he wouldn't get any sleep. Pulling himself out of bed he crept out of his dormitory and down the stairs. He froze when he reached the bottom of the stairs, the common room wasn't deserted as he had expected it to be, there was someone else there. His heart sped up as he stared at her; her full lips were slightly pouted in concentration, a faint crease appearing between her eyebrows as she frowned down at her essay. A smile twitched at his lips as he watched her, she was never usually this vulnerable, she was usually very aware of people watching her and rarely let her guard down. She would never usually be so switched off. He studied her features, her small, straight nose and full lips were so like her mother's. Her high cheek bones and platinum blonde hair were identical to her father, her hair was arguably her best feature, Danny had always loved it, for as long as he remembered, it was silky soft and always smelt wonderful. Danny suddenly felt as though he had been hit by a tonne of bricks - she wasn't just little Lucie anymore, she was grown up, and she was beautiful, she no longer felt like a best friend, she was so much more, and she had kissed him. He almost groaned in frustration, he should have kissed her back.

Lucretia felt eyes boring into her and started, looking up into Danny's pale blue eyes, he stared back into her honey brown ones. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from his face, he finally started moving towards her keeping his eye contact with her. She blinked when he reached her and averted her eyes; "Danny -" she whispered.

"Ssh", he said cutting her off and placing a finger to her lips. "Don't say you're sorry", he said before moving his finger away and cupping her beautiful face in his hands. They stared at one another for another moment before he leant slowly in to capture her lips in a kiss. Lucretia felt like fireworks were exploding in her stomach, this wasn't like any kiss she had had before, not that she had had many. She reached her hands towards him and wrapped them around his back, pulling him closer to her and deepening the kiss. His other hand tangled in her soft hair as he felt her soft hands running up and down his bare back. All too soon he pulled away and Lucretia almost moaned in frustration, he only pulled back a short way, their arms still around one another, neither of them knowing what to say. What did you say to your best friend after you had just kissed them incredibly passionately? Neither of them said a word, they just smiled at one another, they could both feel the shift in their relationship without voicing it. It suddenly felt to Danny that him falling for Lucretia was completely inevitable, she was his best friend and she was absolutely stunning, no woman could ever compare to her. He stroked a strand of hair away from her face and kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose causing her to scrunch up her face showing the crease between her eyebrows again. It was the only flaw on her perfect face, and Danny loved it. "Fancy going to Slughorn's party with me?" he asked. He was asking her so much more, and he hoped she understood. Of course she did, he could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice when she replied; "yes", she breathed.

* * *

Lucretia woke up to the sunlight streaming through her window, she scrunched her eyes up bringing her hands to her face to shield her eyes, she had forgotten to close her hangings when she had finally gone up to bed. She glanced round the dormitory and saw that she was the last one to get up, she grabbed her watch from her bedside table and let out a sigh of relief, at least she wasn't late. She dressed quickly and grabbed her bag before rushing down the stairs, a spring in her step as she replayed the events of the previous night in her head. "Morning you", she heard as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked up, Danny was grinning at her from his seat by the fireplace. "How come you're not at breakfast?" she asked, walking towards him. He stood up once he reached her and pulled her into a hug before giving her a light kiss on the lips; "I thought I'd wait for you", he said with a smile.

"You didn't have to do that"

"I know. But I wanted to. Hungry?"

"Starving", she said, suddenly aware of how hungry she actually was. He grinned and walked to the portrait hole, her following him closely, once they were in the corridor he took her hand and she laced her fingers through his and they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Are Danny and Lucie holding hands?" asked Orion in disgust.

"Eww, yeah. I think they are", said Max.

"Do you think they're in love?" asked Alfie.

"Eww! Nooo!" Orion and Max cried, horrified.

"Look who's finally seen the light", said Roxanne, nudging Amelia.

"Oh, about bloody time!" she said, loudly enough for Lucretia and Danny to hear her. They shook their heads and grinned at them, dropping onto the bench opposite them and piling their plates with breakfast. "So …?" said Roxanne.

"So?" repeated Lucretia rolling her eyes and smirking at her cousins.

"What's the story?" asked Amelia.

"Like you said, we saw the light", said Danny, also smirking.

"You two are impossible", said Amelia with a laugh.

"You will tell us later!" said Roxanne menacingly.

Lucretia just waved her hand and took another bite of toast as the owls arrived with the post. Dora flew down and landed in front of Lucretia and stuck her leg out, Lucretia untied the letter and offered Dora the rest of her toast. She took it gratefully and dipped her beak into Danny's pumpkin juice before taking off to the owlery. Lucretia unfolded her letter, recognising her mother's handwriting she began to read;

_Dear Lucretia, _

_We got your letter. Glad you arrived safely. Your father is over the moon about Max and Orion being in Slytherin, I think he's planning on buying them something extravagant - you know what he's like! We hope you aren't having too much trouble with Jonas, in any case I'm sure you can handle yourself, it might be wise to reassure your father though, you know how he worries. _

_About Danny; I don't want to say too much, all I'll say is that he will surely tell you in his own time, I know how close you two are. Don't bother him about it, and don't let it worry you. Let us know if you have any problems or any news. Stay safe, send Octavia and the twins our love, and tell the terrible two (and Alfie) to behave themselves._

_Love, Mum _

_p.s. Uncle Ron is fuming about Alfie being sorted into Slytherin - Hermione thinks he might have a heart attack - your father of course, finds it all hilarious. _

Lucretia snorted in a rather un-ladylike manner when she read her mother's p.s. and Danny looked at her, a questioning look on his face. She turned to Amelia; "I think we were right about your dad's reaction to Alfie", she said grinning. Amelia and Roxanne grinned. "Is it that bad?" asked Danny. Lucretia shook her head and folded the letter back up before putting it in her robes. "I doubt it, otherwise I think it would have been more than a p.s." she said reassuringly, "you two ready?" she added to Roxanne and Amelia who nodded and stood up immediately. Lucretia swung her legs round the bench and picked up her bag before turning to Danny, "I'll see you later", she said giving him a quick kiss before standing up to leave the hall. "See you back in the common room", he replied with a smile before watching her out of sight.

* * *

After dinner Lucretia sat in the common room writing a reply to her mothers letter, she wondered if she should tell her about her new relationship with Danny, she wanted to, but she was worried that her father might read it and she knew he wouldn't take the news very well. She sighed, she would wait until she went home for Christmas to talk to her mother, then she could be sure that her father wouldn't find out before she had worked out a way to tell him without him flying off the handle. Danny climbed through the portrait hole and saw his new girlfriend sat at a table in the corner of the common room writing something, he watched her for a moment with a smile on his face before walking over and sitting himself down in the seat opposite her. "What are you frowning about?" he asked. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Nothing, just writing to my mum"

"Have you heard about the Halloween Ball?"

"What about it?"

"The flyers are up now"

"Oh really? So it's actually official then?"

"Yep, and I was wondering …"

"Hmm?"

"If you would be my date?"

"Of course I will! Do you really think I'd let you take anyone else?" she asked teasingly.

"As if I'd want to", he said leaning across the table to kiss her. She pulled back and sighed. "What?" he asked.

"I just don't know if kissing you will be as good when my dad breaks your jaw …"

"Are you going to tell him?" he asked, eyeing the parchment suspiciously.

"This letter's for my mum … I was wondering if I should tell her?"

"What if your dad reads it?"

"I know, I was worried about that …"

"You could just tell her we're going to the dance together …"

"Yes, and she'll probably get the hint … and if dad sees it, we can easily cover and say it's as friends?"

"Perfect, but we can't keep it secret forever"

"I know, let's just wait a while yet, I really don't want my dad to ruin your face"

"Are you ready for Slughorn's party?"

"As I'll ever be"

"We don't have to stay long"

"Promise?"

"Promise, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go by the owlery though, so I can send this".

* * *

"Ah Miss Malfoy! Mr Finnigan! You made it! I thought you were skipping out on me!" Slughorn mock scolded, wagging his finger at them with a smile stretched across his face.

"Of course not Sir", said Lucretia sweetly, "we wouldn't miss this for the world, I was just sending a letter to my mother". Danny shook his head, he was in awe at how good an actress she was, she had been even more annoyed at having to attend the party than him. Her ability to wrap the Professor around her little finger astounded him, Slughorn of course, took the bait immediately. "Oh not at all dear!" he boomed, "how is your mother? I taught her of course, a very talented young witch, she was always one of my favourites"

"She's fine thank you Sir, her and my father always speak very highly of you"

"Ah, yes, your father, I was so pleased when he and your mother married, surprised of course, although I'm sure everyone at the time was"

"Why is that Sir?" asked Lucretia politely, although her heart was hammering.

"Well they were complete opposites - although they do say they attract, and of course, everyone was certain that she would become Mrs Potter"

Lucretia felt Danny stiffen beside her and she squeezed his hand reassuringly. She knew this would be uncomfortable for him but she had to know, Slughorn mentioning her parents and Harry Potter had reminded her of what Roxanne had been about to tell her the other day. "Yes I heard that there was quite a scene caused at my parents wedding", she said innocently. Slughorn took the bait immediately, he had had a few fire whiskeys and his tongue was slightly looser than usual. "Ah, of course. I mean, we all assumed Harry would take it hard when his great love married his arch enemy, but none of us predicted that he would try and stop the ceremony"

"He did?" asked Lucretia, even Danny had become interested in the conversation.

"Yes, I assume he came to declare his love for her, but I suspect that knocking her fiancé out was not the best way to do it"

"What happened?"

"Well, I got this second hand of course, but Harry is said to have argued with Draco and then attacked him. Dear Ginevra then stepped in, ruining her wedding dress in the process, and told Harry to leave, that she loved Draco not him and that he had ruined her wedding"

"Did he go?"

"Yes he did, and as far as I know there was never another altercation between them. And of course Harry mended his heart and married Cho Chang and moved to Australia. Of course, they're back now as you well now - now, ah, I've just seen Miss Bones, if you'll excuse me -"

Slughorn bustled off into the crowd leaving Danny and Lucretia stunned behind them.

"Lucie?" said Danny after a moment.

"Can we go?" she asked.

"Yes of course", he said pulling her towards the exit and out into the corridor, "are you OK?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe I didn't know. I thought my mum and Potter dated briefly at school"

"Ah"

"You know more?"

"Your mum and Potter were together after the war, but he left her to go abroad after a bunch of Death Eaters. While he was away your mum found out that he had cheated on her with my mum - hence me … she was already dating your dad when she found out, I guess she was over it, but I guess Potter wasn't"

"You knew all this and never told me?!"

"I assumed you'd know, it's your family"

"Yeah, it is … I can't believe they didn't tell me, especially with Potter teaching us this year"

"I guess they've just put it behind them"

"I suppose it was years ago", Lucretia conceded, "c'mon, let's go back to the common room".

* * *

When they got back to the common room Danny and Lucretia found that it was packed as they had left the party so early. "Here", said Danny at last, flopping down onto a seat and pulling her into his lap. "You alright mate?" asked Sam, one of his fellow sixth years.

"Yeah I'm good, just came from Slughorn's party"

"Oh yeah? Was it any good?"

Lucretia tuned out as Danny struck up conversation with Sam, she was quite content to just sit on his lap, she was too lost in her own thoughts to pay attention to what they were saying. She let her eyes wander around the room to see who was there, she saw Roxanne and Amelia doing homework in a far corner, then her eyes fell on Vicky and Teddy who were entwined in another chair far away from everyone else. As she watched Teddy slid his hand high up on Vicky's thigh and squeezed it before whispering in her ear. Vicky giggled and nodded before they both stood and hurried out of the portrait hole. Lucretia didn't know why but she was feeling slightly embarrassed, she had a fair idea what they had gone to do and the thought made her feel uncomfortable. Danny was nearing Teddy's age, would he be expecting her to sleep with him? She couldn't imagine being that intimate with someone, even if it was the person that she felt most at ease with in the entire world.

"Are you OK?" Danny's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she wondered if the worry had shown on her face, she quickly composed her face into a perfect mask and turned to smile at him. "Yes I'm fine", she said.

"Were you thinking about your parents again?" he asked.

"Yes", she lied, praying he wasn't in one of his perceptive moods.

"Hmm", he said, nuzzling her neck gently. She slowly let out her breath and leant further into him, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as she did so. She didn't know how long they sat there, both of them wrapped up in their own thoughts but by the time Danny snapped out of his daydreaming the common room was practically empty. He glanced sideways at Lucretia and saw that she was chewing on her bottom lip slightly, he knew this meant that she was worried about something, he also knew from her stony expression that she would not appreciate him asking her about it. He sighed, leaning his head down on Lucretia's shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent that she applied to her throat. She inclined her head slightly more towards him until her head was rested on his, she smiled, she didn't even know why she was worrying, Danny would never pressure her into anything, she kissed the top of his head, his hair tickling her cheek. He grinned when he felt her kiss him, whatever was bothering her clearly wasn't effecting them as a couple, he reached up to pull her face gently to his and kissed her. She responded to his kiss enthusiastically and shifted so she was half straddling him so it was easier for her to reach him. They hadn't been kissing for long when they heard the portrait hole open, Lucretia pulled away regretfully to look at the newcomers. It was Vicky and Teddy, they had clearly returned from wherever they had been, both looking slightly dishevelled. "Don't mind us", Vicky grinned with a wink. If Lucretia was the type to blush she would have turned scarlet, she refused to look at Danny, instead she tossed her hair over her shoulder and summoned up her Malfoy pride; "actually, we were just saying goodnight", she said with a smile, "now I'll be going to bed", she continued, getting gracefully to her feet before sweeping up the stairs to her dormitory, but not before giving Danny's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Of course Amelia and Roxanne were waiting for her when she got up to bed. "So?" asked Roxanne as soon as she opened the door.

"So what?" she asked, still slightly irritated that Vicky had walked in on her Danny, what they were doing was completely innocent in comparison to what her and Teddy had been up to.

"What's up?" asked Amelia

"Have you and Danny had a row already?" asked Roxanne

"No of course not, we were just interrupted by Vicky"

"Oh", said Amelia

"What were you doing?" asked Roxanne

"Just kissing, but of course she implied it was more"

"Ah, awkward"

"Yeah, of course I managed to blag it - I am of course, my father's daughter"

"Yeah, lucky you don't go bright red like me", grumbled Amelia

"Pretty hypocritical coming from her anyway", commented Roxanne

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows her and Teddy are at it like rabbits"

"You think?" asked Lucretia, her eyes wide

"Of course, you two are so innocent sometimes"

"How do you know?"

"Oh, come on, are you saying you haven't noticed?"

"Well, yeah, I have actually", said Lucretia biting her lip again

"Something's wrong", said Amelia. She was the quietest of the three, but she noticed the most.

"What is it?" asked Roxanne, picking up on Amelia's tone.

"Nothing. It's just … do you think … that you know, Danny will expect us to …"

"To …?"

"You know …"

"Oh! Oh, uhm, I don't know … not right away I'm sure"

"Danny's pretty noble", said Amelia, "I don't think he'd push you"

"No me neither"

"I don't think he would, I just worry that he might be thinking about it …"

"Aren't you?"

"No! We've only just got together"

"Yeah I guess, but you've known each other forever"

"Yeah … look, sorry, I'm going to go to bed, I've had a busy day", said Lucretia, closing her hangings before either of her cousins could comment. They kept quiet but exchanged a worried look before climbing into their own beds.


	6. Draco's Warning

**A/N: **Sorry, bit of a short chapter again but I wanted to end it here. Not sure when the next one will be up, I have significant events in mind, I just need to figure out how I want to write them. I'm also starting another Draco/Ginny fic (totally unrelated to the others) focusing on when they're at school. So, look out for that if you so wish, and I shall update this when I get inspired, which will be soon hopefully xD

**6. Draco's Warning**

Lucretia was early. She hadn't slept well that night, her dreams were flashing images of various people and places, some of which she didn't even know. She yawned widely as she walked into the common room. She wasn't the only early riser, there were a handful of other Gryffindor's there already including her younger sister. Octavia was their mother in miniature, except her eyes which were gray like their fathers, Lucretia was the only one who had inherited their mother's honey coloured eyes. She approached the petite red head and sat down on a chair next to her; "morning early bird", she said with a grin.

"Morning Lucie", said Octavia smiling back, "so, you and Danny huh?"

"Yeah, me and Danny", she replied, smiling wistfully.

"Have you told mum and dad?"

"Are you mad?! Of course not, you know dad would flip, probably come here and drag me home, and hex Danny while his at it"

"Yeah, you're probably right", Octavia giggled, "I won't say anything"

"Thanks, oh, and if you catch the terror twins before me, tell them to keep schtum"

"Will do, are you going down to breakfast?"

"Yeah, you coming"

"Yep", said Octavia grabbing her bag, "I'm starving".

* * *

_Dear Mum,_

_Tell dad not to worry about Jonas, I haven't had any trouble from him at all, he's probably worried that winding me up with jeopardise his shiny new badge. There's going to be a Halloween Ball this year - me and the girls are so excited already! We can't wait for the first Hogsmede weekend so we can get our dresses! I'm going to the dance with Danny, not sure who the girls are going with yet but I think Roxie may have her eye on James Clearwater. I hope Uncle Ron isn't too upset about Alfie - if it makes him feel any better no word had reached my ears of the terrible trio getting into any trouble. Mind you, that might be because they are too sneaky to get caught! _

_Hope you and dad are well, love from all of us,_

_Lucretia._

Ginny put her daughters letter down and smiled knowingly, she may have only said she was going to the dance with Danny but she could practically read the excitement in her handwriting. She had always thought that it was only a matter of time before Danny and Lucretia got together as a couple, it seemed as though her thoughts had come true. She smiled as Draco walked into the dining room, he was as handsome as the day they had met each other all over again in the Harpies dressing room. "Morning", she said, standing to greet him with a kiss.

"Blimey", he said when she pulled away, "you're in a good mood"

"Of course I am, I'm married to the perfect man"

"Have you been drinking?" he chuckled.

"Don't be silly", she said swatting his arm as he lowered himself into his chair.

"Not that I'm complaining", he added as she snaked her hands over his broad shoulders, "is that a letter from the kids?" he asked, spotting the parchment on the table.

"Yes, from Lucie"

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine"

"The others?"

"They're fine, it's just a letter dear"

"You know I worry about them"

"I know", she said kissing the top of his head, "but you are overprotective, especially over the girls - Lucie in particular"

"Well she's my first born - and she's growing up into a beautiful young woman"

"You're worried about boys?"

"Of course I am, aren't you?"

"Well a bit, but she's fifteen, boys are inevitable, hormones kick in …"

"Humph"

"She was writing about the Halloween Ball"

"They're having a ball?"

"It appears so, her and the girls are going to Hogsmede to get their dresses"

"I'll send her some money"

"She's going with Danny"

"What?!"

"Calm down, he's our godson, and he cares about her a great deal"

"Yes, but he's a sixteen year old boy, his hormones will be raging!"

"Lucie's a sensible girl"

"Aren't you supposed to be reassuring me that nothing will happen?"

"What would be the point? You wouldn't believe me."

* * *

Lucretia woke up in a bad mood, she'd been having flashing dreams again and they were really starting to get on her nerves, she wondered whether or not she had enough influence with Professor Slughorn to be able to persuade him to brew her a dreamless sleeping draught. She sighed and slammed her quill down, she hadn't been able to concentrate on any of her classes throughout the day and getting her Charms homework done was proving near impossible. Everyone was giving her a wide berth, she had snapped at almost everyone who had come to talk to her or attempt to ask her what was wrong. Even Danny was keeping his distance, he had been incredibly distant all day as well but Lucretia wasn't in the mood to wonder about why. She put her head in her hands and tried to clear her head, she'd dreamt about what she thought was her parents wedding, except her father kept turning into Potter and then Danny, she had woken up several times shaking. She didn't even know why it was effecting her so much, it wasn't as though she hadn't know about her mother and Potter - she supposed it was just the fact that they had been more than just school sweethearts that bothered her. It scared her that if it hadn't been for Potter going away to fight death eaters then her mother and father may never have got together. She didn't think she could take any more of the 'what ifs' floating around in her head, perhaps she should write to her mother and ask her, but she didn't want to be the one to drag up the past, there must be a reason her parents never discussed it, they were pretty open about everything.

Danny watched Lucretia from the other side of the common room, she had her head in her hands and was clearly upset or bothered about something. He wanted to go over and pull her into a hug, but he stayed rooted in his chair as though a sticking charm had been put on him. He knew she would notice that there was something bothering him too, he knew she would assume it was Potter and then she would get that pitying look in her eyes and he couldn't stand to have her or anyone else pity him. He didn't want to have to tell her that the real reason he was being distant was because of the letter that was apparently burning a hole in his pocket as he thought about in. He pulled it out almost unconsciously and unfolded it to read it again;

_Dear Danny,_

_As your Godfather I am writing to let you know that I am here for you if you need to talk about the situation with Potter. I know it cannot be easy for you having that waste of space teaching you, especially when it's one of the subjects I know you are most passionate about. Try not to let the arrogant prat get to you - I assure you, if he puts one step out of line I shall see to it that he is sacked immediately. Remember - you are a credit to your parents. Seamus and Romilda are terribly worried about you and how you must be feeling. I would urge you to reassure them that you are fine - however, if in fact you're not you know that Ginny and I are always here for you. You can write to us about anything in the strictest of confidence. _

_Now, onto other matters, I hear that you are accompanying Lucie to the Halloween Ball. I trust that you will take care of her and not get her into any trouble. I warn you now, Godson or not, if you harm one hair on her head there will be severe consequences. _

_All the best,_

_Keep your chin up,_

_Draco_

Danny sighed, he had expected this, he knew Draco would find out about him and Lucretia, it was inevitable that he would - he didn't even know why he and Lucretia had even bothered to keep their relationship a secret from him. He supposed that the warning was a lot less threatening than it could have been, he supposed that the fact that he was his Godson made Draco slightly less paranoid - he shuddered when he thought of what he would do to any other boy had tried to date his daughter. He sighed, he didn't know what to reply to Draco, obviously he would have to reassure him that he would do nothing to hurt Lucretia, that was the easy part. The hard part would be talking about Potter - he wondered how much he should reveal about his feeling, should he pour all of the bitterness he was feeling into the letter - could he really trust Draco not to reveal anything to his parents if he revealed the true extent of his feelings? He sighed again, he couldn't think in here, he need to get out and fly.

* * *

It felt amazing in the air, the sound of the wind rushing in his ears drove away all of the thoughts that were buzzing around in his head, it felt fantastic just thinking about where he was flying - he felt like screaming, as though by doing that he could release all his pent up frustration and anger. All too soon the sun was setting behind the horizon and he had to land, shouldering his broom and walking towards the castle. He decided he would be completely honest in his letter to Draco, he knew his Godfather would understand, he would never betray him, he knew he could trust him one hundred percent. The only people he trusted more were his parents and Lucretia and he couldn't talk to any of them. He was so distracted by his thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and he bumped into someone. "Sorry", he grunted, turning to make sure whoever it was OK.

Harry turned to see who had just walked into him and was shocked to see he was face to face with Danny Finnigan. He stared at the boy, his son, he was taller than he was by about a head, he had chiselled cheek bones and messy black hair that Harry suspected he had done deliberately. He had icy, pale blue eyes identical to his mother's and he was well built with broad shoulders, not small and scrawny as Harry had been in school. Harry searched for something that would identify him as his son but he could see nothing, perhaps their noses were the same, but there was nothing obvious there. "Sorry Professor", Danny's stiff apology snapped Harry out of his daze. "That's quite alright, what were you doing out here?" he asked.

"I was just flying on the pitch", Danny said. Harry noticed that his voice had a soft Irish tint to it that he had no doubt picked up from Seamus. "You fly?" Harry asked, interested now.

"Yeah, I play chaser like my dad", Danny answered. Harry nodded, making a mental note to keep an out of for how well Danny played when the Quidditch season began. "Well, you best get back to the castle, it's almost curfew"

"Yes Sir", said Danny turning on his heel and walking back up to the castle.

Danny hurried up to the owlery once he reached the castle, if he was quick he would be able to send the letter and get back to the common room before curfew. Once in the owlery he pulled out a piece of parchment and his quill, loading it with ink before scribbling a letter to his Godfather;

_Dear Draco,_

_Thank you for your letter, it means a lot to me that you are here for me. I can't talk to my parents about how I feel because I know my mum will get upset and I don't even know how my dad would react. I can't talk to Lucie either, not properly anyway, because she has only just found out about it. I know you and Ginny have always known about it but I would appreciate it if this could just be between us. I can't stand that Potter is our professor, I can barely concentrate in his class and I'm terrified my grades are going to slip. I don't know how he can stay so cool when I'm sat in his class - he has said outright in front of our class that he has no children. He clearly knows I exist and am sat right in front of him. If I could get away with it I would curse him, for me and for my mother. The only thing that I can draw comfort from is the fact that I don't look anything like him! But that just gets me thinking that I must act like him - that I am the same as him inside, I don't want to be like him, but I'm so terrified that I won't have a choice. I just don't know what to do - I don't know if you can help me, I don't expect you to be able to, but I needed to tell someone. _

_I just want to let you know that I would never hurt Lucie, she's my best friend and I would never do anything to hurt or upset her. I understand why you warned me, but I want to assure you that you have my word that she'll be fine with me. _

_All the best,_

_And thank you again,_

_Danny_

Danny rolled up the letter and tied it to an owl quickly before he could change his mind, he had to get it off his chest and he knew that if any one would be able to help and understand it would be Draco. He sighed, thinking about what he had said at the end about Lucretia, he meant every word of it and yet he hadn't spoken to her all day, he would fix that. He hurridly left the owlery and set off towards the common room wanting nothing more than to hold on to his girlfriend.


	7. Hogsmede Horror

**A/N: **I've finally been struck by some inspiration! Hope you enjoy the new chapter xD Please review!!

**7. Hogsmede Horror**

Lucretia wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck before descending down the dormitory stairs into the common room with Roxanne and Amelia, Danny was waiting for her at the portrait hole, she smiled when she reached him and gave him a quick kiss in greeting before the four of them left and wandered down to the entrance hall. When they got there they found that it wasn't as busy as they had expected it to be, they supposed that the bitterly cold weather must have put people off. "Right, I'll see you at lunch time", said Danny kissing Lucretia again, "have fun shopping you three", he added before walking over to join his friends. Lucretia watched him for a second before she turned back to her friends; "OK girlies, are you ready for some serious shopping?" she asked. They grinned mischievously at her before they walked over to Filch to have their names crossed off the list, as they left the castle they drew their cloaks further around themselves and buried their faces as far down into their scarves as they could and hurried as quickly as possible down to Hogsmede.

* * *

"Oh, finally!" exclaimed Roxanne as they slammed into the dress shop in Hogsmede, shivering uncontrollably. "Chilly out there girls?" asked the good natured witch who owned the place, smiling brightly at them. "You could say that", said Lucretia, returning the smile.

"So what can I do for you today?"

"We're just looking for dresses for the Halloween Ball, if it's OK we just want to have a look around, perhaps try a few things on?"

"Of course dears, if you need me just give me a shout".

The girls all thanked her before heading towards the rack of formal dresses at the back of the shop and rifling through them immediately. "I wish I could wear red", Amelia moaned as Roxanne held up a beautiful full length, flowing red gown up to her body so the others could see what she had her eye on. "Don't worry Milly, we'll find you something", said Lucretia who had also found the dress that she wanted. The girls had decided that they would all choose the dresses that they wanted and try them on together. After another half an hour Lucretia pulled out a shimmering silver coloured dress that she knew would look perfect on Amelia and wouldn't clash with her flaming hair. "Oh gosh Lucie, you're a life saver, I thought I would never find anything!" she exclaimed gratefully, taking the dress eagerly.

"OK, now it's time to try them on!" said Roxanne heading towards the changing rooms.

"Are you all ready?" asked Lucretia after she had zipped her dress up.

"Just a sec", called Roxanne, "OK, I'm done!"

"Me too!" came Amelia's voice.

"OK after three", said Lucretia, "one, two, three!"

On three the girls all opened the curtains on their changing rooms and stepped out together, turning to look at each others dresses. All three of them gasped and started throwing compliments into the air, all ecstatic with their own, and each others choices. Roxanne's full length red gown complimented her dark hair and coffee coloured skin tone perfectly, the fitted bodice showing off her tiny waist. Amelia's knee length silver number fanned out dramatically at the hips, reminding the girls of a fairy as the fabric shimmered beautifully every time she moved. Lucretia had chosen an elegant black dress that was simple at first glance but actually showed off her best assets to perfection. The front had a round neckline that was not too low cut and the entire back was cut out, showing her flawless skin, the silky fabric fell to her knees and swished elegantly as she walked. "We are going to look fabulous next week!" squealed Roxanne, "I really wish I had a date now!"

"There's still plenty of time to get a date", said Lucretia with a smile.

"That's easy for you to say, you've got your perfect man", Roxanne teased. Lucretia's smile merely widened and she checked her watch. "Speaking of which, I've got to get going", she said hurrying back into the changing room to take off her dress, "do you two want to come?"

"No, we wouldn't want to impose", said Amelia

"You wouldn't be imposing!"

"No really, we've still got shoes and bags to find"

"OK well if you're sure", said Lucretia, exiting the changing room again, the dress draped over her arm, "have fun, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for, I'll see you back at the castle"

"Sure, see you later Lucie, have fun!" Amelia called

"Yeah, and behave yourself!" Roxanne added. Lucretia shook her head and walked up to the counter to pay for her chosen dress before she braced herself and headed out into the cold, sending a final wave to Roxanne and Amelia as she did so.

Lucretia hurried towards the Three Broomsticks where she was meeting Danny and bumped into someone as they were walking out of the pub. "Oh, I'm so sorry -", she began, turning around to make sure that whoever it was alright. She was not as concerned however when she saw who she had bumped into, "oh it's you", she said, narrowing her eyes at Jonas, she had still not forgiven him for what he had said to her in Defence Against the Dark Arts, although since that incident he had been unnaturally quiet. "Oh, well if it isn't Miss Malfoy", he said, his voice dripping with all the contempt he could muster, "where have you been?" he asked eyeing the bag that she was carrying, "buying your daddy some new Death Eater robes?"

"Shut up about my father, I've told you before!" she hissed.

"Oh scary Lucie, you know, maybe I shouldn't wind you up, I wouldn't put it passed your dear daddy to torture a school kid". That was it. Something inside Lucretia snapped, no one spoke to her like that, especially not about her father. She had had just about enough from Jonas and he had finally gone too far. She took a step forwards and raised her hand to slap him but he was too quick for her. Anticipating what she was going to do he grabbed her arm before she could make contact grabbing her and pushing her away from him. She slipped on the icy ground and fell backwards, he made to grab her but he was too late, she hit the floor, cracking her head with a sickening crunch on the edge of one of the stone plant pots outside the pub. He stared in horror as she lay there unmoving, crimson blood trickling onto the white snow.

"Lucie!"

Jonas turned and saw Victoire rushing passed him to kneel at Lucretia's side, she was clearly unsure of what to do although he saw her take her wrist and check that she still had a pulse. "Teddy!", she screamed, "go, go to the castle, you have to get someone!"

Teddy didn't need telling twice, he sprinted full pelt down the Hogsmede street despite the slippery road and had disappeared from sight within seconds. Jonas didn't know what to do, he hadn't meant for this to happen, he wanted to apologise, explain to Victoire that he had never meant to do it but the words wouldn't come, instead he ran. As Jonas disappeared the door of the pub opened and Danny walked out, he was wondering where Lucie had got to, she was never late for anything so he thought he would come out and see if he could see any sign of her. He looked to the right where he thought that she would appear from and saw that the street was deserted, he then looked to his left and what he saw almost stopped his heart. Lucretia was lying on the floor, Victoire kneeling at her side sobbing uncontrollably, his stomach lurched when he saw the pool of blood that was beside her head. He rushed to her immediately, shoving Victoire aside slightly harder than he had meant to and gently lifted Lucretia's shoulders up so he could rest her head on his lap. Her head lolled to the side and he saw the damage that had been done to her, he felt sick again but he unwound his scarf and pressed it to the wound to stop the bleeding and supported her body the best he could with his other arm; "is help coming?!" he demanded, turning to Victoire, she nodded, unable to speak as she was crying so much. Danny felt relief and terror in equal measure, help was coming, he just hoped that it would get here soon.

"Vicky!"

Victoire and Danny looked round to see Teddy running back towards them, Professor Potter right behind him looking incredibly concerned. "Out of the way Victoire, Teddy get her to Madam Pomfrey, she'll give her a calming draught, let her know that Lucie is coming soon". Teddy nodded and hauled Victoire to her feet, supporting her sagging body as he turned to steer her back to the castle. "How long has she been out?" Harry asked Danny. Danny shook his head, "I don't know, at least fifteen minutes"

"Right", said Harry calmly, but Danny saw the underlying fear in his eyes as he bent down to check her pulse. Danny wasn't sure how to feel, he was glad that someone was there to help Lucretia but he was annoyed that it was Potter, he was the last person he felt like dealing with. "OK, we'll have to carry her, I would levitate her but I'm worried about her head injury so I think it would be best if we do it, will you help me?"

"Of course", said Danny, his voice cracking slightly.

"OK, do you think you'll be OK supporting her head?"

Danny nodded and shifted so Lucretia's head was cradled in one of his arms and slid his other arm underneath her supporting her shoulders and upper back. Harry smiled encouragingly and slid one of his own arms under her lower back and the other behind her knees. "Right, after three", said Harry, "one, two, three". The two of the lifted Lucretia gently and set off as quickly as they dared towards the castle.

"Well I've cleaned the wound and healed it but she is still unconscious", said Madam Pomfrey, her voice concerned, "she has a crack in her skull and I have given her skelegrow but I think we should inform her parents"

"I'll do that immediately, thank you Poppy", said Professor McGonagall glancing towards Lucretia's bed which was surrounded by her siblings and Danny who was holding her hand.

"Does anyone know what happened yet?" asked Harry.

"Teddy and Victoire say they saw her being pushed by Jonas Dysai", said Professor McGonagall gravely, shaking her head. Harry was unsure of what to say, he knew that Jonas and Lucretia didn't get on but he never would have guessed that Jonas was capable of such a thing. Professor McGonagall seemed to understand how he was feeling and managed to give him a small smile before sweeping from the hospital wing.

It was a few hours later when Madam Pomfrey suggested that Danny, Octavia and the twins go down to dinner and try and eat something. Octavia refused at first but then relented, knowing how grumpy and irritable the twins could get when they didn't eat. The three of them left together the twins on either side of Octavia holding her hands, they all looked completely heartbroken as they asked Danny to look after her, he assured them that he would and tried to smile before they turned and left, he wasn't sure that he had succeeded. He gripped one of her hands in his and willed her to wake up, tears sliding down his face as he stared at her beautifully still face, she could have been a sleeping angel, but he knew better. The door of the hospital wing opened again but he didn't look up until he heard that they were heading to Lucretia's bed. He stood when he saw who had arrived and looked into his Godmother's pale face and shining eyes and finally cracked, breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably. He felt strong arms pull him into a hug and thought stupidly for a moment that his father had come, of course he knew it was Draco. He cried and cried and his Godfather just held him tightly staring over his shoulder at his motionless daughter, willing himself not to cry. Ginny sat herself down next the bed and took the hand that Danny hadn't been holding, tears falling silently down her own face. Draco heard other people enter the room but didn't look at them, his focus was on his daughter and the sobbing boy in his arms. Eventually Danny's sobs subsided and Draco steered him back into his seat, he sat heavily before taking hold of Lucretia's hand again. Draco squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before turning to see who had come into the hospital wing. It was Potter and Professor McGonagall, he left Lucretia's bedside and walked over to where they stood and stuck his hand out to Potter; "Thank you for everything you did for my Lucie today, I'm truly grateful", he said, trying to smile. Harry took his hand and gripped it tightly, trying to reassure his old enemy, he couldn't imagine ever feeling as lost and distraught as Draco looked it this moment. "I just hope it was enough", he replied, trying to smile reassuringly. "Me too", said Draco sadly, looking towards his daughter, without a word he let go of Harry's hand and walked over to Ginny, draping an arm protectively over her shoulder.

Another few hours found Danny and Draco staring out of the window unable to look at Lucretia's unmoving form any longer. "You know I'm still a hundred percent here for you don't you?" said Draco quietly, "I'm grateful to Potter for helping Lucie but I'm still fully on your side in all of this". Danny nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak just yet. Finally he swallowed and turned to look at his Godfather, "thanks Draco", he whispered. Draco nodded.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy?" Draco turned as he heard Madam Pomfey's voice behind him, had something happened? "What is it?" asked Ginny as Draco and Danny rejoined her.

"We think it's best if Lucretia is moved to St. Mungo's as she has still not regained consciousness"

"When will you be moving her?"

"In the next few minutes if you are agreeable?"

"Of course", said Ginny and Draco together.

"OK, it will be easiest to move her by floo but before we do I have to ask …"

"Ask what?" said Draco

"It's a bit delicate …"

"It doesn't matter, what is it?" said Draco, slightly irritated now.

"I have to know if there's any way that Lucretia could be pregnant?"

"What?!"

"She can't travel by floo if -"

"Yes I know!" said Draco, thunderstruck.

"So?" said Madam Pomfrey tentatively. The three adults all turned to stare at Danny, the two women looking slightly nervous and Draco murderous. "No", he said looking Madam Pomfrey dead in the eye, "no there is no way that she could be pregnant"

"Good, now we can move her", said Madam Pomfrey conjuring a stretcher and sliding Lucretia onto it, "would you two like to accompany her?" she asked Draco and Ginny.

"You go", said Ginny to Draco, "I'll be there soon once I've let Octavia and the twins know what's going on". Draco nodded stiffly and kissed his wife before walking into the fireplace with Madam Pomfrey and Lucretia. After they disappeared Ginny turned to Danny. "I'll let you know as soon as she wakes up", she whispered embracing him swiftly before hurrying from the room.

Danny was in a daze as he walked towards the common room, Lucretia's motionless face seemed imprinted on the back of his eye lids. He slammed through the portrait hole after snapping the password at an offended Fat Lady and found himself face to face with most of Gryffindor. He wasn't in the mood for this now, he walked through the deafening silence towards his dormitory but stopped halfway there when he noticed Jonas lurking in a corner. He changed direction and walked over towards him, the expression on his face vicious, Jonas stood up as Danny approached him and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could get any words out Danny punched him hard in the face. Jonas fell to the floor and Danny stood above him his breathing ragged. Every word shook with anger when he spoke; "you better pray that she's OK, because if she isn't a broken nose will be the least of your worries I promise you", he said menacingly before turning away and walking up the stairs to his dormitory leaving the stunned Gryffindor's in his wake.


	8. Halloween Ball

**8. Halloween Ball**

Danny had a spring in his step as her walked down the stairs to the entrance hall, he had his broom slung over his shoulder and a smile on his face as he headed down to quidditch practice. Lucretia was coming back to school today, just in time for the Halloween Ball and he was thrilled, she had been released from hospital earlier in the week but had spent a few days at home with her parents before she was fully ready to come back. He didn't know what time she would be getting back but he was just happy knowing that come this evening he would be leading her into the great hall, the luckiest guy in school. He jumped the last two steps and his heart leapt as he saw Lucretia walking in through the entrance with her parents at her side, his face split into a grin; "Lucie!" he called, she looked up and smiled, her smile was so breathtaking and he couldn't believe how long it had been since he had last seen it. She ran to him straight away and he dropped his broom in time to catch her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck as he lifted her off her feet and spun her round; "I'm so glad you're back", he murmured into her hair as he set her back down on the ground, he wanted to kiss her but he thought it would be best to wait until her parents had gone. "Me too", she said smiling up at him, "are you going down to quidditch practice?" she asked eyeing his broom.

"Yeah", he said, "I don't suppose you're allowed yet are you?"

"No", she said sadly, "not for another few weeks, how's my replacement doing?"

"Got nothing on you", said Danny truthfully, Lucretia was a far better seeker than Sam who was filling in for her while she was out of action, "but it's OK, you'll be back in action for the first game right?" he added with a smile.

"Try and stop me", she said with a grin, "anyway, you best get off, I need to settle back in, I'll see you tonight?"

"Can't wait", he said truthfully giving her a kiss on the cheek before picking up his broom and heading out to the pitch after saying a quick hello and goodbye to his Godparents.

* * *

After Lucretia saw her brother's and her sister she headed up to the dormitory where she knew that Roxanne and Amelia would be waiting for her. As soon as she opened the door they ran at her screaming and threw their arms around her, she laughed and hugged them back; "God I've missed you!" she exclaimed.

"We missed you too!" said Roxanne and her and Amelia finally released their cousin.

"Have you seen Danny yet?" asked Amelia.

"Yeah, I saw him as soon as I got back, he was on his way to quidditch practice"

"And you've seen you're brothers and sister?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because we're kidnapping you for the rest of the day! We have a ball to get ready for!" said Roxanne, a sly grin on her face. Lucretia couldn't help it, she grinned back.

* * *

"Octavia! Psst, Octavia!"

"Who's there?" said Octavia looking around the seemingly deserted corridor.

"It's us", said Orion sticking his head out from behind the statue he was crouching behind.

"What are you doing here? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry", said Max, emerging from his hiding place, "but we need your help"

"No way, if you're up to no good I am not getting involved"

"Please, you're the only one we can ask", said Max

"Not necessarily", said Orion, "I'm sure Danny would help us"

"Yeah, but by the time he gets back the prat might be back!"

"Who are you talking about?" Octavia asked, curious despite herself.

"Jonas of course, we want to get him back for what he did to Lucie", said Orion

"Trouble is, we can't get into the Gryffindor tower", said Alfie

"So we need someone who knows the password to let us in", said Max

"OK, fine, just promise me he won't know who's done whatever it is", said Octavia

"He won't, not unless he catches us red handed", said Alfie

"Which is very unlikely", added Max

"Seeing as he's just headed off for a three hour detention", finished Orion

"Fine I'll help, come on", said Octavia leading the way to the portrait hole. When they reached their destination the Fat Lady looked disapprovingly at them and didn't open when Octavia said the password. "Pupils from other houses shouldn't be in Gryffindor Tower", she said.

"I'm sorry", said Octavia, "it's just they really want to see my sister, she just got back"

"Well in that case", she said her voice softening, "go on in", she said swinging open to admit them. Octavia signalled for the trio to wait while she checked whether the common room was empty, she was in luck, not a soul was in there, she assumed they had all taken advantage of their Friday lessons being cancelled and got out and about. She beckoned to the boys and led them quickly across the room and then up the stairs that led to the fifth year boys dormitory. Again she opened the door a crack to check that none of the boys were in there before pushing it open. "Right, whatever you're doing can you do it quickly!" she hissed.

"Which bed is his?" asked Orion.

"I have no idea!"

"I'd say it's this one", said Max, "that's him in the picture right?" he said pointing at the picture on one of the bedside tables. "Yeah that's him", said Alfie.

"OK", said Orion rummaging through the cupboard until he found what he was looking for.

"Here", said Max handing him a bottle. Orion took it and set the bottles next to one another, before taking a flask out his robes and pouring the contents of Jonas' aftershave into it. He then poured the contents of the bottle that Max had handed him into the empty aftershave bottle before putting the top back on and putting it back in the cupboard. Octavia stared half in shock and half in admiration as he got rid of the rest of the evidence and stood up grinning. "Done", he said. Octavia was impressed, it had taken them about a minute, they had clearly planned this one meticulously. "OK, let's get you out of here", she said leading them out of the dorm and down the stairs before ushering them out of the portrait hole, "remember if anyone sees you you were visiting Lucie OK?"

"Relax sis, we know what we're doing", said Orion shaking his head and following his twin and his cousin out into the corridor. Octavia breathed a sigh of relief once they had left but then her face furrowed into a frown - she had not asked them what exactly was in the concoction that they had replaced Jonas' aftershave with. She hoped it wasn't too dangerous, anyway it was too late now as the portrait hole swung open and a group of students came in and settled themselves in the common room.

* * *

Danny was the last one to leave the changing rooms as he had to lock the balls back into their trunk and return it to the store room. He shouldered his broom, a smile on his face and headed back up towards the castle, as he walked up the lawns he noticed Professor Potter walking down them, they continued walking towards one another, neither of them showing any signs of recognition, both of their minds working on overdrive. Danny was torn between walking straight passed him and thanking him for helping Lucretia. Harry was torn between telling him that he was glad that Lucretia had recovered and just leaving him to it. Harry decided to keep walking and not rile the boy, his voice however stopped him in his tracks. "Professor?" Harry stopped and turned and looked at Danny. "Yes Mr Finnigan?"

"I uhm, I just wanted to, you know, say thank you for helping me with Lucie"

"No problem, I was glad to hear that she had made a full recovery"

"Yeah, she's … she's back now so, uhm, anyway, I'm just grateful", said Danny before turning and walking back to the castle before Harry could say anything else. Harry watched his retreating back curiously, a battle raging inside him, finally he made his mind up and hurried back to the castle.

Once inside his office Harry sat himself down behind his desk and pulled a piece of parchment and a quill towards him, loading the quill with ink Harry started writing before he could change his mind;

_Romilda,_

_I know I'm the last person that you would expect to hear from but I need to see you, as soon as possible if you're agreeable, you can name the time and place. It's about Danny, I spoke to him earlier and the conversation has stuck with me, I need to talk with you. Please._

_Awaiting your reply,_

_Harry_

* * *

Lucretia, Roxanne and Amelia walked down the stairs to the entrance hall slowly and carefully so they didn't trip over in their heels. Danny looked up to see Lucretia's entrance and she took his breath away, he knew she was the most beautiful girl in the school but the way she looked tonight could quite easily make her the most beautiful girl in the world. He smiled as she walked over to them, a smile on her own face, he held his hand out to her and she took it leaning up to kiss his cheek, even in her heels she was several inches shorter than him. "You look amazing", he breathed as she kissed him. "You don't look so bad yourself", she said cheekily. He grinned and led her into the great hall that was decked out with amazing Halloween decorations. Hagrid's giant pumpkins had been hollowed out and filled with candles and were dotted throughout the hall. Orange and black streamers hung about the place and enchanted bats fluttered around the ceiling. The house tables had been replaced with small round tables that were situated around the edge of the hall leaving the middle free for dancing. Danny, Lucretia, Amelia and Roxanne found a table with Sam, Victoire and Teddy and the boys went to get everyone drinks. "I can't believe they're actually letting us have alcohol!" exclaimed Roxanne as the boys arrived back with colourful cocktails for everyone. "They didn't actually let us", said Sam with a grin. "What do you mean?" asked Amelia, taking a sip of her drink. "Well, me and James snuck into Filch's office and changed the order from 'mocktails' to 'cocktails'. Simple really", he said taking a swig of his own drink and waving someone over. James came over and joined them, dropping into the seat next to Roxanne and engaged her immediately in conversation. Lucretia and Danny exchanged and look and then smirked; "may I have this dance?" Danny whispered into her ear, she giggled and took his hand and he led her onto the dance floor.

* * *

Outside the great hall Max, Orion and Alfie were crouched behind a statue waiting to see if their plan had paid off, if all had gone to plan Jonas wouldn't even know what had happened to him. They heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up in anticipation as they had done every time, this time however they were rewarded when a purple faced Jonas descended the stairs, completely unaware of his new skin colour. Alfie and the twins grinned at one another and high fived each other quietly as they watched Jonas walk in through the doors of the great hall. They heard some muffled laughter and covered their mouths to stop their own giggles escaping. Seeing as no one was talking to Jonas after what he had done to Lucretia hopefully it would take him a while to realise why everyone was laughing at him.

* * *

Amelia was on her own. Everyone was out on the dance floor except her and Jonas who was sat at the table opposite her, his face purple. She wondered vaguely whether he knew or not, she assumed not, unless he had done it on purpose but she couldn't imagine why anyone would do that. She downed the rest of her drink, she had lost count of how many cocktails she had drank, but her head was feeling fuzzy. She couldn't believe that Roxanne had left her on her own, so much for the single girls sticking together, she couldn't believe she had just upped and left without a backwards glance when James had asked her to dance. Not that she begrudged Roxanne a dance, she just didn't understand how she could have left her on her own all night. Suddenly her stomach lurched and she stood up and bolted to the bathroom, she made it just in time and threw up in the toilet. She lifted her head when she was sure she had finished and wiped her shaking hand across her mouth, she stood up, slightly unsteady on her feet and went to the sink to rinse her mouth out. Her head was still fuzzy but her stomach felt a lot better. She gulped down some more water and left the bathroom almost colliding with someone on her way out; "oh, I'm so sorry!", she exclaimed, falling against the wall in the corridor. "Are you alright?" the somebody asked her, she looked at him and realised straight away that it was Jonas. She could feel it coming up and she couldn't stop herself, she had to know; "Jonas you do realise that you have a purple face don't you?" she blurted out. He stared at her for a second, realisation dawning on him; "that would explain why everyone was laughing at me", he said looking slightly crestfallen, Amelia felt sorry for him although she knew that he deserved it; "would you like me to fix it for you?" she asked, pulling out her wand. He raised his eyebrows; "are you sure you're in a fit state?" he asked teasingly, his words slightly slurred, she realised that he was slightly worse for wear too; "it's a simple spell", she said with a shrug pointing her wand at him and saying the incantation. "Am I normal again?" he asked touching his face gingerly. "As normal as you'll ever be", said Amelia before she could stop herself, he looked shocked for a moment but then pushed her shoulder gently; "cheeky", he said with a grin, she smiled back at him, he had moved closer somehow. He was close enough for her to kiss him, and for some reason she wanted to, she leant forward and touched her lips to his.

* * *

"I just can't dance in these shoes anymore!" exclaimed Roxanne, throwing herself into a chair and pulling off her heels, massaging the balls of her feet. James grinned and sat down beside her; "you want me to walk you back to the common room?" he asked her.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" asked Roxanne, biting her lip.

"Nah, it's winding down now, c'mon let's go", he said grabbing her hand and pulling her up.

"I'll see you back in the dorm!" Roxanne called to Lucretia as they passed her and Danny who were slow dancing in the middle of the dance floor. Lucretia gave no indication that she had heard anything as she tilted her head up to kiss Danny passionately. Roxanne shook her head and her and James carried on out into the entrance hall and up to the Gryffindor tower. "So did you have a good time tonight?" asked James once they got into the common room.

"I had a much better time than I thought I would, thanks to you", she said with a smile. He smiled back at her and moved closer to her. "Me too", he breathed before brushing his lips lightly against hers, she kissed him back softly and he pulled back after a few moments and smiled, "well, good night", he said before heading towards the stairs to the boys dorm. "Good night", Roxanne called softly before heading up to her own dorm a huge smile on her face.

* * *

Lucretia and Danny were giggling madly as they half staggered out of the great hall into the deserted entrance hall clinging to one another. Lucretia half fell out of his grasp and stumbled towards the stairs but his hand grabbed hers and pulled her back into his arms kissing her before she could protest. He kissed her deeply and passionately and she moaned against his mouth encouraging him to push her backwards into a hidden alcove. It wouldn't do for them to be caught snogging in the entrance hall by a patrolling teacher or Filch. They were pressed even more tightly against one another as they stood in the small space of the alcove. Their hormones seemed to take over and one of Danny's hands dropped from her waist to her the hem of her dress, sneaking under it he ran his hand up her silky smooth thigh. She shivered at his touch and ran her own hands down his broad chest, he groaned when she reached the waistband of his trousers and let his other hand creep under her dress, squeezing both her thighs. She gasped at his touch and he lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist, moving his mouth from her lips to her neck he heard her moan softly in his ear. Suddenly they heard a crash somewhere in the castle and snapped their heads in the direction that it had come from both breathing hard. Once they were sure that it was nothing bad they turned to look at one another. Lucretia still had her legs wrapped around him, her dress riding up dangerously high, her blonde hair falling out of its previously perfect bun. She stared at Danny for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say; "what are we doing?" Lucretia finally whispered. "I don't know", he said back, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to go so far", he said resting his forehead against hers. "I think we're both to blame, but I don't think we should go any further", she said shifting her hips slightly, as she moved she felt just how excited Danny was, "I'm sorry", she whispered, "I just wanted it to be special, not in some deserted corner of the castle", she pressed her lips to the spot just behind his ear. "It's OK", he whispered back, shifting back slightly so she could unwrap her legs and stand on her own two feet again, "I want it to be special too, you deserve so much more than this", he said smiling at her. She smiled back, breathing a sigh of relief. "You don't mind waiting", she asked, frowning slightly at him, her head cocked to the side in anticipation. "Of course I don't", he said, "I'm ready when you are", he said pressing his lips to her forehead before taking her hand and leading her up the stairs to the common room.


	9. Wondering

**A/N:** I am so so soooooooo freakin' sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I have my excuses, I've had about a billion non Harry Potter related words to write for Uni. If by some miracle you guys are still reading this then I hope you enjoy the update - and I shall try and make them more frequent! xD

**9. Wondering**

Harry looked up from marking his pile of essays when he heard tapping on his office window, he hurried to let the owl in and untied the letter from it's leg, unfolding it hastily;

_Harry,_

_I will be in the Three Broomsticks today at 12 if you still want to talk,_

_Romilda_

He stared at the short note, rereading it several times and suddenly felt incredibly nervous, he had no idea what he was going to say to Romilda. What did you say to the mother of your child after sixteen years of virtually no contact. He sighed, he would have plenty of time to work out what to say to her on the walk down to Hogsmede, right now he had to get back to his marking.

Amelia woke up with her head pounding, scrunching her eyes up at the morning sun that was streaming through the window. It took her a moment to realise that she wasn't in her own dormitory, she didn't recognise where she was at all. Once she was aware of this she quickly became aware of the fact that she was naked, she turned her head to the side and saw Jonas, in a similar state of undress next to her in the bed. She groaned inwardly as images from the night before flashed through her mind - she couldn't believe she had even kissed Jonas, let alone had sex with him! Oh my God she had actually had sex, she had lost her virginity to someone she generally couldn't stand, and even worse, could barely remember it. She could feel the shame rise up in her and tears start to sting her eyes, she had to get out of there before he woke up. As quietly as she could she slid out of the bed and pulled on her underwear and her dress before checking her watch, it was half past seven, hopefully she could get back and into her own bed before anyone else got up. Being a Saturday and the day after the ball it was likely that everyone would choose to sleep in, she just hoped that neither Roxanne or Lucretia had noticed her absence. Amelia managed to get to the Gryffindor tower without being seen and after muttering the password to a disapproving Fat Lady she dashed up the stairs to her dorm and undressed again, quickly throwing on her pyjamas and climbing into bed. She pulled the covers up over her head and finally let the tears fall.

"You're in a good mood this morning", said Lucretia suspiciously as she and Roxanne headed down to breakfast.

"It's a beautiful day", said Roxanne with a sly smile.

"Indeed it is, spill. Now."

"OK, OK, me and James kissed last night"

"Oh finally!"

"What?!"

"You two, you've been eyeing each other for weeks!"

"So! We're not nearly as bad as you and Danny!"

"What do you mean?"

"That it took you two years to figure it out!"

"Shut up, it did not!"

"Did too, anyway, who cares, where do you think Milly got to last night?"

"I don't know, but I think she's feeling it this morning", said Lucretia with a smile as they walked into the great hall, "amazing how they tidied up so quickly", she commented as she slid onto the bench. Once she had sat down she sent a smile to Danny who was sat further up the table with his friends, he smiled back and gave her a wink before turning back to his breakfast. For some reason she wanted to blush as she remembered just how steamy they had got after the ball and how they had finally spoken about taking their relationship further. In the cold light of day however, Lucretia felt embarrassed and was unsure that she would be able to talk to Danny about taking things further again. It was a strange feeling being unsure of how to talk to him about something, after all, ever since she could remember she had been able to tell him anything, even things that she couldn't tell Roxanne and Amelia. She had always known that no matter what that she would always be able to go to him - but how did she go to him when he was the one that was causing her to worry?

Harry was incredibly nervous as he walked into the Three Broomsticks, he hadn't see Romilda in years and he had no idea what her feelings towards him were, her letter had given virtually nothing away and held none of the warmth that he knew her to possess - he was not filled with confidence. He spotted her immediately, sat in a far corner away from the locals that had gathered around the bar, she already had a drink so he quickly ordered himself a pint of ale before heading over to join her. "Erm, Hi", he said, "thanks for coming to meet me".

"I came because you said you wanted to talk about Danny", she said eyeing him suspiciously.

"Of course", he said nodding, unsure of how to continue.

"He's not causing you any trouble is he?" Romilda looked worried now.

"No, no of course not, it's just I don't really know what I'm feeling"

"You mean you're feeling something for him?"

"I don't know, I think so. I can't explain it, but I expected him to hate me, and for a while I was convinced that he did, but then yesterday he … well he thanked me, for helping Lucie"

"He's not an ungrateful child!"

"I wasn't saying he was! It's just under the circumstances I didn't expect him to say anything"

"So, because of this - what?"

"Well, I don't know, I suppose I just … I'd like to know about him"

"Then why don't you ask him?"

"I wanted to ask you, I haven't forgotten what you said … about walking into his life"

"He's sixteen now, he can make the choice himself"

"But I want to know if you'd be comfortable with it?"

"I'm his mother, I'll support him in whatever choice he makes, and so will Seamus"

"I'm not trying to take anything away from Seamus, I need you to know that"

"You couldn't even if you tried. Danny loves Seamus and Seamus loves Danny, as far as everyone is concerned they are father and son, and that's how it will stay"

"I understand that"

"Really? Because I'm not convinced that you do"

"Look, it was because of Seamus that I didn't see Danny"

"What?"

"When he was born and you gave me the chance to see him, and I didn't. Part of me wanted to but then I heard how happy Seamus was and I realised that I couldn't just walk in and snatch his life away from him. I could have done but I didn't, for once I felt like I had done right by you"

"You did that?" Romilda whispered, she was speechless.

"Yes, but I can't just pretend that Danny doesn't exist, that he isn't my son when he's sat in my classes, right in front of me. I can't pretend I feel nothing"

"You would have to be made out of stone not to feel anything", Romilda said quietly, for the first time since they had started talking she actually looked sympathetic. Harry felt that he had made the right decision in writing to her, now that she understood perhaps she would be more willing to give him another chance.

"Draco?!"

Draco looked up from his paperwork and frowned, he thought that Ginny had already left for work. "Ginny?! Is that you?!"

"Yes it's me, get down here you've got a visitor!"

Draco frowned even more, he wasn't expecting anyone today, he got up from his desk and headed down the corridor to the living room where he assumed Ginny had showed the mystery guest. Just as he reached the room Ginny walked out of the door and smiled at him; "it's Seamus", she said quietly, "he seems a bit agitated, anyway, I'll leave you two to it, I have to get to work", she said giving him a kiss on the cheek and a quick squeeze on his upper arm before heading down the hallway and out the front door. Draco took a deep breath and walked into the living room, Seamus did indeed look agitated, he was fidgeting in his seat as though he wanted to be anywhere else in the world. "What's going on?" asked Draco, taking a seat opposite him. Seamus looked stricken; "she's gone to see Potter!"

"Ah", said Draco raising his wand and summoning a bottle of fire whiskey and two glasses. He poured them both a drink and pushed one of the glasses to Seamus who took a gulp immediately. "When did she go?" asked Draco.

"A few hours ago, I thought she'd be back by now, I couldn't stand being in the house alone"

"It's alright mate … why has she gone to see him?"

"He wrote to her, he wanted to talk about Danny"

"What?!"

"Yeah I know"

"And she went?!"

"I told her, she's too nice for her own good sometimes"

"Do you know what he wants?"

"No, but I'm terrified he's going to try and take Danny away from me"

"That's crazy, Danny hates him even more than you do"

"But how can you be sure?! Potter's his real father, he might want to get to know him!"

"I know because … because Danny told me"

"What?"

"I promised I wouldn't say anything"

"When?"

"A few weeks ago, he wrote to me about it"

"What did he say?"

"I don't want to betray his trust but … I can conclude that he feels very bitter towards Potter"

"Why couldn't he talk to me about it?"

"He didn't know how you would react, he didn't want to upset you or Romilda"

"I wish I knew how to talk to him about it … I mean I've tried but he always closes himself off"

"I guess he doesn't want to throw it in your face that you aren't his biological father"

"I may as well be"

"I know that, and so does Danny. You love him as much as any man loves his son, more so in some cases"

"Do you think Potter wants to be in his life?"

"Even if he does it doesn't mean he'll get what he wants"

"But if he does?"

"The you'll deal with it. You and Danny and Romilda, together, as a family. He can't take anything away from you unless you let him."

Danny stared out at the lake, it was starting to snow but he stayed sat on the ground underneath a tree just staring. He had so many things going around in his head, he had avoided Lucretia all day and he didn't even know why, he just felt there was an awkwardness that hadn't been there before and he couldn't talk to her about it. He was worried about embarrassing himself and her, then again its not like they could ignore what had happened after the ball forever. He would have to man up and talk to her, he just wasn't quite ready to. He wished he could talk to someone about it, not his mates, they would just tell him to hurry up and nail her, not Draco because he would strangle him. He really wanted to talk to his dad but he didn't think he could bring himself to write to him about his sex life, plus, he would be absolutely mortified if his mother read it by accident. No, he was alone with this one, there was no one to help him, no one that he wanted help from anyway. He could only talk to Lucretia about anything and yet she was the last person he felt like talking to. He sighed, enough was enough, he'd been avoiding it all day, it was about time he went and told his girlfriend exactly how he felt.

"So what do I do now?" asked Harry as Romilda stood up to leave. She considered him for a moment, pausing as she pulled on her cloak. "I don't know", she said, "I need to talk to Seamus, and to Danny, but … the ball's in your court Harry, I can't tell you how to make this right"

Harry nodded and she sent a slightly strained smile in his direction, "thank you", he said, "for seeing me I mean". It was her turn to nod, she flipped her hair over her shoulders, "goodbye Harry", she said and swept from the pub. He watched her go, his mind raging, the meeting had gone better than expected but he still had no idea what to do.

"Thanks for listening to me Draco", said Seamus as he followed Draco into the hallway.

"No problem, just talk to Romilda, you'll be fine", said Draco reassuringly.

"I will, thanks mate", said Seamus gripping his hand swiftly before opening the door.

"Seamus", Draco said as he was about to leave, "everything will be alright, you'll see". Seamus merely nodded before disappearing through the front door. Draco sighed as the door slammed, feet rooted to the spot. Something was troubling him, it wasn't the fact that Seamus was upset about Danny, that was completely expected, it was the fact that he hadn't confided in his wife. Draco and Ginny shared everything with one another, they didn't have any secrets, his stomach lurched slightly as he thought that, it wasn't entirely true, lately he had been keeping something from Ginny. It was nothing, he told himself, nothing to worry about, he didn't want to sound stupid, but then he realised that if he didn't talk to her it would eat away at him and he did not, under any circumstances want to end up as distraught as Seamus. As he thought that the front door opened and Ginny swept. "Winter's definitely coming, it's freezing out there", she said discarding her cloak, "what are you doing in the hall?"

"I was just seeing Seamus out"

"Oh, how is he?"

"Much better now, he made me realise I need to talk to you"

"About what?"

"Let's go in the sitting room", said Draco looking uncomfortable. Ginny frowned slightly but followed him non the less, taking her usual seat on the sofa as he sat in his armchair. "What is it?" she asked, slightly worried by the expression on his face.

"I've been worrying about Lucie", he said.

"Surprise, surprise", said Ginny, unable to stop herself.

"I know it's stupid but ever since she's been seeing Danny …"

"Yes?" Ginny pressed.

"Well it's like she doesn't need me as much anymore"

"Oh, Draco! She's just growing up, it doesn't mean she doesn't need you anymore!"

"I know, I know! But, she's my little girl and now she's all grown up and she's got Danny to rely on, it's like, I don't know, like she doesn't depend on me as much"

"Draco you're being completely irrational, Lucie loves you, she's a Daddy's girl, always has been and always will be, and as for Danny, well you've been competing with him since Lucie learned to crawl"

"I'm being stupid aren't I?" he said with a smile.

"Of course you are", said Ginny walking over to sit on his lap, "but that's why I love you so much", she added, kissing him.

"Lucie?" said Danny tentatively. She looked up from her Transfiguration essay that she had made no progress on and smiled at him. He noticed from her smile that she wasn't herself, he pulled a chair round so it was next to her and sat in it, his back to the rest of the common room. "Are you OK?" he asked, taking her hand. She nodded, and tried to smile again, but she wasn't fooling him. "No you're not", he sighed, "you look how I've been feeling all day, is it … is it about last night?" he asked, lowering his voice. She looked at him for a moment and then dropped her gaze to their intertwined hands and nodded again, "yes", she whispered. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I've been thinking about it too", he admitted.

"You have?" she said, looking up.

"Yeah, how could I not", he said, "it shouldn't have happened"

"You regret it?", she asked. It took him a second to realise that she sounded hurt.

"No!", he said, wanting to curse himself, "no, I really enjoyed myself but … that's not the point is it? We shouldn't have … not there you know, it's like you said, you want it to be special, the last thing I want to do is ruin it for you"

"Danny you could never ruin it for me", she breathed, relieved that he wasn't having second thoughts about them, "just the fact that it's you makes it special, I just didn't want us to get caught"

"So you're saying that if we hadn't been in the corridor …"

"Yes", she said, answering his question before he could finish. He smiled at her and she smiled back. "I was so worried that you would be mad at me", he admitted. She shook her head, and leant forward to kiss him, "never", she whispered before capturing his lips again.


	10. Terrible News

**A/N: **So, so, so sorry I haven't updated in what feels like a billion years! But I've finished my second year of Uni now so I've got until September to write for you lovely people, if I don't get a job that is! Anyway, if by some miracle you are still reading this, here's the next chapter - enjoy! :)

**10. Terrible News**

"Do you think she's OK?" Lucretia asked Roxanne looking down the table to where Amelia was sitting. She looked utterly miserable and had done for weeks. Neither of the girls could get anything out of her, she refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong. Roxanne glanced down the table and frowned slightly, "no she's not OK, do you think she's mad at us?"

"I can't think why she would be", said Lucretia, the crease in her brow appearing as she watched her cousin. "You OK?" asked Danny who had just slid into the seat next to her.

"Mhmm", said Lucretia lost in thought, "you know …", she began, turning to Roxanne, "she hasn't been the same since the Halloween ball, you don't think anything happened do you?"

"Like what?" asked Roxanne.

"Well, she didn't come back to the dorm until after we did, and I didn't see her before I left"

"No, that's a point, neither did I …"

"And now she's just, ignoring us … I mean it's like we don't exist"

"I thought maybe she was a bit mad at me for leaving her by herself but … she's not one to hold a grudge, and it would be a massive overreaction"

"You don't think she could be struggling with schoolwork?" interjected Danny.

"What Milly? No way", said Roxanne shaking her head.

"Well, she might be, I mean, she's always been good at everything … what if she's struggling and doesn't want to admit she needs help?"

"You know … that actually isn't a bad theory", said Lucretia slowly, "you might be on to something, I'm going to talk to her after breakfast".

The girls left the Great Hall and Roxanne separated from Lucretia and headed out to her Care of Magical Creatures class while Lucretia sped after Amelia, hoping to catch up with her before they entered Arithmancy. She was in luck, their Professor hadn't arrived and Amelia was the only one stood outside the classroom, Lucretia approached her; "we need to talk", she said softly, Amelia turned her head slightly avoiding eye contact. "And I'm not taking no for an answer", she said firmly, grabbing Amelia's arm and pulling her into the nearby girls toilets. "Lucie …", Amelia began to protest.

"Don't Lucie me. What is going on? You've been acting weird since the ball and me and Roxie are worried sick, tell me … Milly, I'm your best friend …"

"I know I just … I …"

"And don't say it's nothing, it won't wash with me, it's been nearly a month, you're not yourself"

"I know I'm not I'm just so … so … ashamed", Amelia broke down into sobs.

"Ashamed?" Lucretia repeated softly before pulling her cousin into a hug, "what on earth have you got to be ashamed about?"

Amelia said something unintelligible as she choked on her tears, clinging to Lucretia.

"Is this about school?" Lucretia asked, remembering what Danny had said. Amelia's sobs subsided slightly and she mumbled something else. "It is isn't it, are you failing?"

"Yes", said Amelia, pulling away from Lucretia, "yes I'm failing, I think I've taken on too much"

"Oh, Milly, why didn't you tell us? We could help you"

"It's OK, I … I've got myself extra tuition, I'm just finding all the extra hours hard"

"OK but, are you sure? I mean, you know we're here for you if you need us right?"

"Yeah of course I do, I'm sorry I was worrying you guys"

"It's OK, we should get to class"

"Yeah … uhm, you go on, I just want to clean myself up"

Lucretia hesitated in a moment before nodding and smiling before heading out of the bathroom. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Lucretia's retreating back and turned towards the sink. She jumped as she saw someone in the mirror stood right behind her. Victoire.

"You lied", she said, narrowing her eyes at her younger cousin.

"Sorry?", said Amelia.

"You lied, just then. I can't believe she bought it …"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"I think you do, come on Milly, there is no way you're failing, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life"

"It's true", said Amelia feebly. Victoire merely raised her eyebrows at her, studying the younger girls face. She hated herself for doing it but she needed to know what was causing her so much worry. She had been looking increasingly pained and erratic for weeks, she needed to know why. She took a deep breath; "Milly if you don't tell me what's wrong I'm going to have to write to your parents, and they _will _get it out of you", she said as menacingly as she could, hating herself. Amelia stared at her cousin in disbelief for a few seconds, Victoire remained as still as she could, her expression as hard and composed as she could manage, then Amelia burst into tears and her demeanour slipped. "Milly what is it?" she asked again in desperation as Amelia clung to her sobbing. "I've - been - so - so - stupid!" Amelia choked out between sobs.

"Don't be silly! Come on whatever it is we can sort it I promise!"

"No - you - don't - understand!"

"Then tell me! Make me understand!"

"I can't! I'm so - so - ashamed of - myself!" she hiccoughed

"Look whatever it is it can't be that bad"

"It is - my - parents - will - kill me"

"Look Milly, I won't tell them OK I promise, but you have to tell me what's wrong!"

Amelia sobbed for a few more minutes and Victoire rocked her in her arms, willing her silently to trust her. Finally Amelia's body stilled and her sobbing subsided. "I think I might be pregnant", she whispered into a stunned Victoire's ear.

Danny made his way down to the quidditch pitch in a good mood. This was his teams third practice this week and the previous two had shown him just how wonderful they were and he was sure that they would win the first game of the season that weekend. He grinned when he reached the pitch, five players were already zooming round the pitch even though Danny himself was still five minutes early. He waved and gave the majority of his team a double thumbs up before turning and walking into the changing rooms to change into his quidditch gear. Walking into the room though he felt his smile fade, Lucretia was sat in one corner chewing her lip, there were tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, hurrying quickly to her side and grabbing both her hands, the way he used to when they were little and she was upset. He should have realised that it would take more than that now that they were older, but his naïve streak told him that everything would be OK. As it was she took one look at him and burst into tears. "Lucie what is it?" he asked again, more urgently this time, he was alarmed at her behaviour, she hardly ever lost control like this, even in front of him she always managed to keep hold of most of her composure. He dreaded to think what had happened for her to react this way; "Lucie", he said again, "Lucie please, tell me what's wrong". She buried her head in the crook of his neck and sobbed, the sound was heart breaking, he felt tears springing to his own eyes as he felt her distress. "It's my dad!" she wailed unexpectedly.

"What about him?" asked Danny calmly, although his stomach lurched uncomfortably.

"He's in St. Mungo's", she choked, "someone tried to - to - to -" she broke down again before she could finish her sentence and Danny held her more tightly, "someone what?" he whispered, terrified for his Godfather. "Tried to kill him", Lucretia said in a strangled voice, before another wave of sobs took over.

Harry was walking from the staff room back to his studied when he heard the sound of someone - a girl he thought - crying. He looked round trying to work out where the sobbing was coming from, worry brewing in his chest, the girl sounded incredibly distressed. He hurried down a corridor and to his relief heard the cries getting louder - he was heading in the right direction, as he rounded the corner he saw a sobbing Lucretia Malfoy who looked on the verge of collapse being supported by an incredibly troubled looking Danny. His heart sped up; "Dan - erm, Mr Finnigan?" Harry called, hurrying towards them. Danny looked up from Lucretia and his blue eyes met Harry's green ones, he made up his mind in a second; "can you help us?" he asked desperately. Harry didn't care that he was a teacher, he didn't care that they should go to the headmistress and he didn't care that he should have asked what was wrong, all he cared about was that Danny needed him. "Of course", he said without hesitation, "this way", he said gesturing towards his office before supporting Lucretia's other side. Once inside the office Harry and Danny lowered Lucretia into a chair and Harry turned to his son; "what happened?"

"It's her dad, he's been hurt, I don't know exactly how but Lucie said someone tried to kill him and we really need to get to St. Mungo's now!" Danny said incredibly quickly before adding, "please Sir, please, we really need to get there soon, I don't know how bad it is!"

Harry knew he shouldn't, that he should check with Professor McGonagall, but the distress in Danny's voice made him throw caution to the wind; "of course, but I'm coming with you", he said standing up and grabbing a handful of floo powder from the pot on his mantle piece and throwing it into the flames. He would deal with the consequences later.

"Lucretia listen to me", said Harry grabbing her shoulders as soon as they arrived in the reception area of the hospital, "you have to calm down, take deep breaths, I know it's hard but they won't let you see your father when you're in this state". Lucretia cried harder than ever at the news that she might not be able to see Draco and Danny looked at Harry in despair, he himself almost on the brink of tears. Harry steeled himself and shook Lucretia slightly, making her look him in the eye; "Lucretia Narcissa Malfoy", he said firmly, "are you your father's daughter or not? Pull yourself together and we can find out where he is!" Harry closed his eyes, praying he had done the right thing, he let out the breath he was holding as he heard Lucretia breath in sharply and hiccough once more before she became silent. He opened his eyes; "good", he said more softly now, "now let's find out where he is". Lucretia nodded obediently, not yet trusting herself to speak and followed Harry meekly to the reception desk her small hand gripping Danny's tightly as though she was afraid to let go. She vaguely heard Harry ask the witch behind the desk where Draco Malfoy was and then she felt herself being tugged forwards by Danny, she walked where she was led, down corridor after corridor, passing several people who sent curious glances in their direction. She couldn't care less at that moment, she felt numb, she just wanted her dad, she needed to see for herself that he was alright, nothing else mattered. As they rounded yet another corner Lucretia saw her mother standing there looking worried, deep in conversation with a healer. "Mum!" she called out, dropping Danny's hand and running towards Ginny who looked up just in time to see her daughter before she threw her arms around her. "Lucie what -", she began, rubbing her daughters back and staring in surprise at Danny and Harry, "what are you doing here?" she asked softly.

"I couldn't stand being at school waiting, I - I had to see him", she sniffed, he voice thick.

"The healers are working on him right now baby, but we can see him soon", Ginny soothed.

"Will he be OK?" asked Lucretia in a strangled voice.

"Of course he will darling", said Ginny, sending a significant look at Harry over her daughters shoulder, "he's Draco Malfoy, of course he'll be OK, he's been through worse"

Lucretia said something unintelligible but Ginny could tell from her more relaxed body that she believed her. "Why don't you and Danny go and get something to eat", she said staring pointedly at her Godson, "they're going to be a while, I'll get you as soon as they're finished"

"Yeah come on Lucie", said Danny, tugging on her hand as she showed signs of wanting to protest, "we'll be back before you know it".

Ginny and Harry watched the pair out of sight before Harry turned to Ginny; "are you alright?" he asked, "really, I mean". Ginny took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry, she knew she had to be strong for Draco and her children. "No, no Harry I'm not alright. I'm terrified of losing him, I have no idea what I'd do without him, and the kids! God I don't know what to tell them, I downplayed how serious it was so they wouldn't worry, but I should have know Lucie would want to be here - I should be with them I know, but I don't want them here and I can't leave him", she said, her voice shaking slightly as she finished her sentence. "How serious is it really?" asked Harry, almost afraid of the answer as he saw Ginny wrap her arms around herself, she looked so small when she did that, he remembered it was something she used to do in the months after her ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets. "I don't know", she whispered, "I just don't know, they haven't told me anything useful - I mean I work here for goodness sake! He could be dying in there for all I know, and they won't tell me a bloody thing!"

"I'm sure they'll tell you when they know themselves", Harry said, trying to find some words of comfort but finding none; "what happened?" he asked instead.

"He was - we were - we were at the Ministry - I - Draco was going to make a speech but - but as he stepped up to the podium there was - there was this flash of light and - and he - he fell - and it wasn't a spell I recognised so I turned to see who it was and - and he - he was - oh God Harry - he was wearing Death Eater robes!"

"Death Eater robes? Ginny are you sure, I mean - you were in shock - you just -"

"I know what I saw Harry", said Ginny firmly as the sound of footsteps filled the corridor. Ginny turned away from Harry's thunderstruck face to see who was approaching them. "Ginevra!" exclaimed Narcissa, rushing forwards to embrace her daughter in law, "how is he?" she demanded, "how is Draco? What happened?"

"I don't know Narcissa", said Ginny, tears welling up in her eyes, "they won't tell me anything", she said desperately, now looking at Lucius who had now caught up with his wife. Lucius nodded, his eyes tight, Ginny didn't think she had ever seen her father in law look so upset, and yet she was certain he was holding himself together for the sake of his wife. "I will try and find out what I can", said Lucius slowly, "St. Mungo's have never failed me before", he added turning to head back down the corridor. Ginny distinctly heard the clink of a money bag as he retreated, she did not usually approve of bribing anyone but in this case she would make an exception, she would pay anything. "I think I should go after him", said Narcissa after a moment, "I know he doesn't seem it but he's terribly upset - it won't take much for him to go over the edge", she said quietly. Ginny nodded and managed a strained smile for her mother in law. Harry watched her out of site; "are you actually OK with that?" he asked.

"With what?" she replied, more snappily than she's meant.

"With him bribing whoever?"

"Yes"

"Ginny …" he stared at her in disbelief,

"Look I know it's wrong Harry OK! I know that! But that's my husband lying in there and I want to know how he is! I want to know that he's going to be OK! I want to know that I'll be able to hold him in my arms again! I would do anything to make sure he lives - anything! So don't you dare get all self righteous with me because it's not like you've never broken any rules!"

"Gin, Gin, Gin, listen I'm sorry, I'm sorry", he said pulling her into his arms as she finally broke down, "I'm so, so sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry …"

"What the hell is going on here?" a female voice demanded from behind them. Harry and Ginny broke apart and stared at the newcomer. "What are you doing here?" asked Harry, evidently confused. "I might ask you the same question", said Cho, she looked furious and Ginny edged away ever so slightly. "McGonagall told me you were here", Cho continued before Harry had a chance to answer, "she said there'd been some sort of emergency and I was worried about you. I can see now that I needn't have been"

"Listen Cho", Harry began slowly, "I had to bring a student here, Lucretia, Ginny's daughter, her father's been hurt so I agreed to escort her and Danny -"

Harry's voice tailed off as Cho's eye's flashed in anger at the mention of Danny's name.

"And where are they now?" she asked, her voice dangerously low, "no where to be seen! Instead I find you down a deserted corridor all over _her!_" she finished, her voice rising dangerously. "Excuse me?" said Ginny, staring in shock at Cho.

"Oh don't play innocent with me! You know exactly -"

"Uhm Cho -" Harry tried to interject.

"Not now Harry", said Ginny, "I want to know what she means - well, go on"

"You think you can get your claws back into him with some sob story, well it won't wash with me! It's your own fault that you didn't marry him when you had the chance, and now you realise what a huge mistake you've made! Well, it's not going to happen - you had your chance! Stay away from my husband!"

"How dare you! How dare you come here and talk to me like that. I didn't want to marry Harry, you're welcome to him - no offence Harry - Harry is my friend and nothing else you stupid woman! _My _husband, the man _I_ love is lying in a hospital bed right now and I don't know whether he's going to live or die! I don't know what put these twisted ideas in your head but maybe if you were so sure that Harry loved you, you would have more trust in him!"

Cho opened her mouth as though to reply but closed it again quickly, before raising her hand and slapping Ginny across the face. "Mum!" Lucretia shouted, having just returned from the café with Danny, having heard every word. "How dare you!" Ginny screamed, starting towards Cho, but she felt a strong grip pull her away. "Ginevra calm yourself, you're a Malfoy, you are better than her, she is not worth it", Lucius' voice whispered soothingly yet firmly in her ear. Ginny relaxed her stance and glared at Cho. "Mr Potter I suggest you remove your wife before she causes any more upset to my family", Lucius continued. Harry merely nodded and grabbed Cho by the upper arm. "Get your hands off me!" she shrieked.

"We're going home now", he hissed, "before you embarrass yourself anymore". Cho looked mutinous but allowed Harry to march her down the corridor, at the end of the corridor he turned to send an apologetic look to the rest of the group, to Danny more than anyone. "Excuse me", another voice piped up, "Mrs Malfoy, you can see your husband now".


	11. New Worries

**A/N: **I am so, so, so very sorry dear readers (if you're still there, thank you for being incredibly patient) I haven't posted in so long so to make up for it I'm posting three new chapters today. That's right three! And I hope to post more soon, writer's block has well and truly disappeared. Hope you enjoy xD

**11. New Worries**

"Draco?" whispered Ginny softly, approaching her husbands bed.

"Mhmm"

"Draco?" she said, more loudly this time as he stirred against his pillows.

"Gin?" he muttered, his eyes fluttering open.

"It's me Draco", she breathed, her eyes filling with tears as she stared down at him.

"What happened?" he croaked and she took a deep breath, lowering herself into a chair.

"You were attacked", she said eventually and his eyes widened.

"Attacked?" he repeated, gripping her hand, "by who?"

"I don't know, but …"

"But what?" asked Draco, focusing exclusively on his wife's tears.

"But whoever it was meant to hurt you … perhaps even k-kill you"

"What? But who? Did anyone see them?" Draco demanded, trying to pull himself up but Ginny pushed him gently back against his pillows.

"No one knows who he is, but … I saw … I saw that he was wearing Death Eater robes"

Draco's eyes widened but before he could say anymore than "What? -" the door of his room flew open and Lucretia rushed towards him; "Dad!" she exclaimed, reaching the bed and throwing her arms around him, sobbing against his chest. "Lucie, ssh, it's OK princess I'm alright, it's going to be OK", he soothed, rubbing her back.

"I though … I thought …" she mumbled. Draco didn't need her to finish the sentence, his eyes tightened; "never", he said firmly looking at his wife, "I'm not going anywhere, it's going to be OK, it's all going to be OK", he finished, locking eyes with Ginny.

Harry marched down the corridor towards to Auror department fuming, Cho's words still rang in his ears, how dare she? Of course he loved Ginny, he always would, but he wasn't in love with her anymore, that was ridiculous. And now of course he had to deal with a pissed off wife as well as a long lost son and an ex girlfriend who desperately needed answers. He slammed the door open to the head office. "Whoa!" said Dean Thomas as he looked up from some paper work to see Harry standing in front of him. "What's happened Harry?" said Ron, turning from an evidence board that he had been studying before Harry's unexpected appearance. Momentarily distracted, Harry looked at the board, wondering what Ron was working on, a picture of Draco was central; "I've come to help you with that", said Harry, jabbing a finger towards the board. "You have something new?" asked Dean curiously, looking up from his paperwork.

"Yeah, and it's big. Have you spoken to Ginny Ron?" asked Harry.

"Not properly, I wanted to go over there but she wanted me to stay here, keep things normal, you know what she's like. So anyway, I started on this straight away, but it's infuriating"

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"No witnesses", said Dean shortly, a slightly bitter edge to his voice.

"No witnesses?" Harry repeated incredulously, "but …"

"I know", interrupted Ron, "there were hundreds of people there, but everyone who we've spoken to so far saw nothing except him fall, seems they only had eyes for Draco"

"Which would do wonders for his ego I'm sure", said Dean with a small smirk.

"Anyway", continued Ron, "you said you had something?"

"Yeah, well, Ginny does, but she's still at St. Mungo's so I thought I'd tell you"

"Did she see who did it?" demanded Dean.

"Not who exactly", began Harry, "but they were wearing Death Eater robes …"

"What?"

"Impossible", said Ron and Dean nodded.

"It's what she saw", said Harry.

"There hasn't been a Death Eater sighted in this country since the end of the War when we rounded them all up"

"I know that, but is it possible they've been lying low?" asked Harry.

"I suppose there's a chance, but it's not a likely one. Everyone knows who the former Death Eater's are, the ones who are still alive and out of Azkaban are being tracked"

"All of them?"

"Yes, all of them, even Lucius Malfoy, even though if there was ever a Death Eater who did a one-eighty it would be him"

Harry nodded, unsure how to approach the argument next. He was sure Ginny was right, she wouldn't just mistake something like this, he had seen the certainty in her eyes.

"What about young Death Eaters?" he asked slowly.

"What do you mean?" asked Dean looking confused.

"I mean those who were youngsters at the time of the War, those like Malfoy who weren't branded. I mean, we know that Malfoy was forced into it, but what about those who weren't? What if there were some who enjoyed it, like Crabbe and Goyle?"

He waited a moment as he saw Ron and Dean taking in what he had said, he saw they were not entirely convinced so before they could argue against him he continued. "What if, say they went abroad after the War and settled there? There wouldn't be any physical evidence that they were Death Eaters so we would never have been tipped off about them like we were about all the others. Think, if they were young and unbranded they would probably have known Draco, perhaps they even went to school with all of us. What if they found out Draco was living the high life here, Ministry high flyer, big house, a wife and kids, not forced into hiding like they were. What if that was enough to make them snap? Come back over here and look for revenge? It wouldn't be the first time, it's just taken longer than most." Harry finished. Dean and Ron looked stunned, they were still coming to terms with Harry's theory, letting it sink in. Harry couldn't tell whether or not he had convinced them with his argument but he waited. After a minute Ron opened his mouth to say something but a knock sounded on the door before he could. "Come in", he called, turning to see who was interrupting. A young witch popped her head around the door; "sorry to bother you but an incident has just been reported"

"That's all right Gloria, what is it?" asked Ron.

"A Mr Blaise Zabini has been attacked".

"How's Blaise?" demanded Draco as soon as Ginny walked into the room, his face pale and anxious. She smiled, "he's OK, Luna's with him". Draco let out a sigh of relief and lowered himself back against his pillows, his mind racing as he felt Ginny take his hand in hers. "Draco?" she whispered after a moment. "Yes?" he replied turning to look at her noticing for the first time how frightened she looked, her eyes were wide and she looked so tiny and vulnerable. "Ginny what is it?" he asked, gripping her hand more tightly.

"I just … I just can't understand it … why would anyone do this to us?"

He had no answer for her so he settled for pulling her closer to him and stroking her hair, "I don't know", he whispered, "but I won't let anyone hurt you I promise"

"I know", she said after a moment, he was relieved to hear her voice sounding stronger.

"Is Lucie all right?"

"She's fine, I sent her and Danny back to school"

"And the others?"

"Fine, all fine, I saw them this morning, let them know you were OK"

"Do they know about Blaise?"

"No not yet, but we'll have to tell them, I expect it will be all over the Prophet tomorrow"

"Two identical attacks in one day, I would imagine so"

"Ron's working on it", said Ginny quietly.

"I know he is, have you told him what you saw?"

"No, but I imagine Harry has"

"You told Potter?"

"He was here when you were still unconscious, he brought Lucie and Danny"

"Right, did he stay long?"

"No not really, Cho turned up … she wasn't best pleased about his whereabouts"

"Paranoid as ever"

"Worse"

Draco rolled his eyes and almost managed a smirk, how insecure that woman must be to believe that Potter would run off with Ginny. As if Ginny would even want to run off with him. Ridiculous. Just then the door opened again and in strolled the man himself, he look stressed and harried. Usually this would bring a smile to Draco's face, but, as he kept reminding himself, they were on the same side now. "What is it?" asked Ginny.

"There's been another attack", said Harry.

"Who?" asked Draco, fear tightening around his heart.

"Theodore Nott"

"Theo? Is he all right?"

"He's here in St. Mungo's, they're working on him"

"Oh my God", said Ginny burying her face in her hands, Draco reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "Any leads?" he asked Harry.

"No, only what Ginny's told us … but I have a theory"

"How likely is it?"

"I was just about to ask you that", said Harry with a half smile. Draco contemplated him for a moment, "all right then, let's hear it". Harry relayed his theory to Draco whose eyes widened and then narrowed as Harry finished talking. "Youngsters?" he repeated.

"Yes", said Harry, "like you were, unbranded, but still taking part"

"You know I had no -"

"Choice. I know, I do remember, but I bet others did"

"Look, I wasn't the only one who was threatened, but you're right, there were plenty who weren't, who were proud, who want to serve Him"

"Who?"

"I can't give you all of them, there were hundreds, he even had foreigners"

"But you can give me some?"

"Yes"

"Slytherin's? Working from the theory that's most likely wouldn't you agree"

"Yes, considering the attacks have been made on reformed Slytherin's"

"So?"

"OK, well those who were willing to serve … there was Crabbe and Goyle, Warrington, Flint, Vaisy and Harper from the top of my head, there were more but … well they were a tight knit group, the most into it all", he shuddered slightly.

"Well Crabbe's dead, but that still leaves us with five potentials, I'll look into where they went after the end of the War"

"Keep us posted!" Draco called after him.

"I will!" replied Harry as the door swung shut behind him.

"I've got names", said Harry ten minutes later as he slammed into Ron and Dean's office. "Spill", said Dean, a quill at the ready. Harry reeled them off. "According to Malfoy they were a tight knit group who were all for Voldemort", said Harry, "suppose they still are as close, they may be out for revenge against those who renounced the old ways, who betrayed them in a way. Think, Malfoy and Zabini both married outside their circle, and Theo has openly renounced the Dark Arts", he looked at Dean, desperate to make him believe that what he was saying was right, he could feel that it was, but he needed others to see it too. "I hear you Harry, but if what you're saying is true there could be plenty more in danger, what about Pansy Parkinson?"

"She renounced …"

"No not that! Plenty of Death Eaters renounced, I doubt that half of them meant it! I meant that she married a muggle born!"

"Warn her then!" exclaimed Harry, "if they haven't already got to her"

"And the Greengrass's", Dean continued, "Daphne you must know is engaged to Charlie Weasley and Astoria married out of the pureblood line"

"Well warn them, warn them all Dean, I'm sure I'm right about this!"

Lucretia walked down the dimly lit corridor slowly, she was tired and not at all in the mood for her prefect duties. Danny had offered to cover for her but she didn't want to sit in the common room amid a sea of whispers and she was too worked up to go to bed despite being thoroughly exhausted. The castle was unnaturally quiet, she would usually find one or two students out of bed at least, and would almost always walk passed a ghost or a patrolling teacher. Tonight though, she had seen no one, not since she had bade goodbye to Danny when the corridor had forked fifteen minutes ago. She sighed and checked her watched, five minutes and then she could call it a night. Just as she was about to turn and make her way back down the corridor she heard a scuffling noise, she lit her wand and held it high, glancing round to find the source of the disturbance. "Hello", she called, her voice echoing eerily in the deserted corridor, "is anyone there?" she continued, "it's passed curfew, this will mean detention", she said walking towards where she had heard the noise, she was sure that someone was there. All of a sudden she was grabbed roughly from behind and dragged into a concealed corridor, she tried to scream but a strong hand covered her mouth and she was pulled further into the darkness. She tried to hit out with her legs and arms but her captor was too strong, and then everything went black.

The doorbell rang and Ginny sighed, making her way down the hallway to answer it, she had been in the middle of making Draco's favourite dinner as he had been discharged from hospital and was currently sat with a fire whisky in the living room. She opened the door and smiled, it was Harry and Ron, "what brings you here?" she asked brightly before catching sight of their stony expressions, "what's happened? Who is it?" she demanded.

"Ginny maybe you should sit down", said Harry quietly.

"No!" she said, "no I won't, tell me right now, what's happened?"

"What's going on?" came Draco's voice from the living room doorway.

"Something's happened", she replied, "tell me!" she said forcefully to Harry.

"It's Lucie", he said in a deathly whisper. Ginny's eyes widened in disbelief and Harry heard Draco's sharp intake of breath. "They took her."


	12. Captive

**12. Captive**

Draco's head was spinning, he couldn't process what Harry had just said to him, how could they have taken Lucie? She was at Hogwarts, she was safe, she had to be, she was his little girl and he was supposed to protect her. How could he have failed her again? It was as though the universe had imploded and there was nothing any more, how could anything exist? Then it was as though the weight of the world crashed over his head as he heard Ginny's agonised scream, he tried to see, to reach her but his feet were rooted to the spot and his vision was blurry. He felt his hand grip the door frame until his knuckles turned ice white, his vision was back, crystal clear he saw his wife broken and sobbing on her knees, her brother trying to comfort and to sooth her but it was pointless. The hysterics she was in on their wedding day paled into insignificance when compared to the heart wrenching cries that echoed round their hallway. And still he couldn't move, still he couldn't feel or cry. He was glued to the floor, his half empty glass of fire whisky still in his hand. Then something snapped. Those bastards had his daughter. And he would be damned if they took her from him forever. He turned sharply slamming a hand against the living room door. He would get her back, if it was the last thing he ever did he would get her back.

Harry watched as reality finally hit Draco, he reacted with anger that was a strong and full of distress as Ginny's tears. Confident that Ron could handle her he walked towards Draco, he had to calm him down, they needed him. As he reached the living room door he saw Draco hurl his glass across the room, it shattered in the fireplace and Harry didn't flinch. He put his hand out to put it on Draco's shoulder, and he rounded on him, his grey eyes cold and shining with emotion, the conflict raging behind them was clear to anyone, would the anger or the anguish win out? "Listen Draco", said Harry in a low voice, "we need your help if we're going to find her, we need information that you can help us with, anything you can tell us about any of these guys could be crucial". Draco shrugged Harry off him and paced the living room a few times, Harry could tell that he was trying to master his anger, his hands were shaking with rage as he struggled to take in what Harry had said. Finally he stopped and stared Harry dead in the eye, the silver met the emerald and for the first time they reached understanding. "You'll find her", whispered Draco. Harry nodded, "we won't rest, you'll help us?"

"I'll do anything"

"Places of significance?"

Draco started pacing again. "They'd want to be here", he said slowly, "in the country, they wouldn't take her abroad … if this is for revenge … maybe they'd want to taunt me … they're all from old wizarding families, they could be using any one of their homes but I doubt it … I can't see them still being in Hogwarts can you? Hogsmede is a no … I can't think Potter! They could be anywhere! There's nothing significant that isn't obvious, somewhere that you wouldn't think to check right away. I can't … I don't know these people, I never did, not really. I wasn't like them! Look talk to Theo, they tried to recruit him … or Daphne, she was Flint's girlfriend back then … and you need to send protection to my parents, and get my children out of school, send them to the Manor, or the Burrow, just make them safe …"

"Where are you going?" asked Harry as Draco made to leave the room, "we need -"

"I told you what I know! Don't you think that if there was more I would tell you? That's my daughter, I'd give anything to have her back! Just do what I said, I need to be with my wife!"

Danny stared without seeing, the whole common room was deathly silent, Sam and James on either side of him had no words of comfort. Teddy next to them gripped Victoire's hand tightly. Amelia and Roxanne sat on either side of Octavia who's tears fell fast and unchecked down her cheeks. No one knew what to say, none of them could believe it. Danny had been convinced that it was a lie, that there had been some mistake, she couldn't be gone, why would anyone want to hurt her, his Lucie, the girl he loved. His heart panged uncomfortably, he had never told her that, he was sure she knew but he should have told her. He clenched his fists together until his knuckles turned white, if only he had been more forceful, made her stay behind and go to bed instead of doing her duties. What if this was all his fault for letting her go in her state? "Octavia", a voice whispered close by, it sounded deafening in the silence of the common room. The group looked up to see Professor Longbottom, he smiled kindly at them; "Octavia I'd like you to come with me please", he said.

"Why?" she asked a little thickly, "has something happened?"

"There's no new information but your father has requested that you and your brothers go and stay with your grandparents for a while"

"Why can't I go home?" she asked standing up shakily.

"I don't know", said the professor kindly, "come along, your brothers are waiting".

"Bye Octavia", Amelia managed, "it'll be OK".

It had taken two hours for Draco to sufficiently calm Ginny so she was in a fit state to actually drink her calming draft, he had then given her a dreamless sleep potion and carried her up to their bedroom. He watched her now, her sleeping face peaceful. He heard a knock on the door and tore his eyes from her face, hurrying as quickly and quietly from the room as he dared. He opened the front door and found himself face to face with Potter, without a word he opened the door wide and walked into the living room. Harry hesitated for a moment before crossing the threshold, closing the door behind him, he then took a deep breath and followed Draco into the living room. "We have some news, and a potential new lead", said Harry.

"What?" asked Draco sharply, looking at him properly for the first time.

"Marcus Flint married Millicent Bulstrode and they had a son William, shortly after his birth they moved to France -"

"Yes this is all very fascinating Potter but what's your point?"

"My point is they're not there anymore"

"So they moved?"

"In rather a hurry"

"What do you mean?"

"The house is still fully furnished but it's clear they've been gone at least a few weeks"

"So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking they came back, and I think I know where they are"

"Where?"

"The old Bulstrode family manor; the other old manors you mentioned have all been either sold or seized by the ministry"

"So you think that's where Lucie is?"

"It's only a possibility but it's all we've got to go on right now"

"So let's go then! What are we waiting for?"

"It's un-plottable, we don't have the location"

Draco almost snarled and slammed his fist against the wall. Harry flinched slightly but held his nerve, they needed him, and they needed him in control. "Draco", he began, Draco ignored him so he continued, "Draco do you have any idea of the location - any clue that Millicent may have given you about her home? Anything, no matter how small may help …" he waited. Draco took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, to think. "She said it was cold, always, she looked forward to summer when her parents took her abroad. She always missed the sea when she came back … I think she once mentioned a lake … and forests … God it could be anywhere Potter! That's all I can remember right now!"

"It's OK, at least we can begin to narrow it down … do you know anyone who might know more?"

"Daphne Greengrass, they were good friends, I think she visited …"

"Perfect".

The first thing that Lucretia became aware of was that her head ached, dull and throbbing pain etched across her skull. Then she became aware that she was incredibly thirsty, it felt like there was something in her mouth, she tried to speak but found she was gagged, she tried to move her hands but they were bound, so were her feet. She opened her eyes, it was pitch black and all she could hear was the steady drip of a leaking pipe. She must been inside she deduced, most likely a basement. Before she could contemplate any further a gruff voice spoke from somewhere in front of her; "she's awake Flint". She squinted into the gloom but she could only make out a rough outline of a man, then another figure approached her, looming out of the darkness, huge and terrifying. She cringed away from his advance but she could barely move a millimetre, they had tied her tight. "Well, well, well", said the man, his voice cold and mocking, "if it isn't little Miss Malfoy, Daddy's little princess", so they new who she was, she thought, this wasn't some random attack. The man stood in front of her for a moment, contemplating her, the way he looked her up and down terrified her. "Pretty little thing isn't she Greg", he whispered to his still shadowed accomplice, "so very pure", he continued, placing a hand on her knee, "untouched", he whispered sliding his hand up and under her school skirt until he was almost touching her. She trembled, feeling revolted and nauseous, she had saved herself for Danny and now this man was going to ruin her, even if she did manage to get out alive, would Danny even want her anymore? Tears slid down her face, she could help it, she had promised she wouldn't play the victim and cry, but the thought of Danny meant she couldn't stop. "Don't cry little one", the man said, moving his hand to brush away her tears, she flinched. "I won't hurt you", he soothed, then he turned to the second man, "I think it's about time Will had some fun don't you?" he asked. The second man laughed, this terrified Lucretia more than ever, who was Will? What would Will do to her?

"Sorry to call so late Charlie, but I need to speak to Daphne"

"S'Okay Harry", said Charlie, stifling a yawn, "c'mon in, is this about Lucie?"

"Yeah"

"Any leads yet?"

"One potential, but it's more of a hunch, I could be way off"

"Your hunches are usually right Harry - Daphne!" he called up the stairs. Daphne appeared a minute later looking exhausted, "Harry needs to speak to you"

"What is it?" she asked, looking from Charlie to Harry.

"Sit down", said Harry, "I just have a few questions"

"If it's about Marcus, I told Ron everything I know, we were only together a few months, until I saw his true colours", she shuddered slightly at some memory and Charlie squeezed her shoulders. "It's actually about Millicent Bulstrode"

"What about her?"

"You used to be good friends"

"Yes. Until she ran off with him."

"You went to her family home?"

"A few times"

"Do you know where it is?"

"No … not exactly … why -"

"It could be relevant to the case"

"You think that's where they have Lucie?" Charlie interrupted.

"Maybe. Listen Daphne, anything you can tell me …"

"Well, the place was huge, about the size of Malfoy Manor, but older, much older and less grand looking, it was pretty worn, castle-like. The grounds were huge, there was a giant lake, some mornings you couldn't even see over the other side because of the mist. The lake was surrounded by forests, as far as you could see, the nearest road was at least three miles away, and no evidence of any neighbours. On a really clear day you could see the mountains, they were covered in snow. I can't really help much more, have I even helped at all?"

"Yes Daphne, you've been a great help".

Marcus Flint opened the door to the cellar and ushered his son ahead of him. Will complied, moving down the steps confidently, he had to be in control. "There she is", said Marcus once they reached the bottom of the stairs, "I told you I had a treat for you". Will nodded, trying to control his breathing. "Well son, don't you want to take a better look", said Marcus. Will moved forwards at once, stalking towards Lucretia who stared at him with wide eyes, when he reached her he yanked a handful of her hair and made her look at him. "If you scream I'll kill you, do you understand?" he asked menacingly, his other hand at the knot in her gag. She nodded, fearfully and he released her hair, then he quickly untied her gag and bent towards her face. She turned her face away and her pulled her hair again, she whimpered, "you best not struggle, it'll be easier that way", he hissed before crushing her lips with his, she did as she was told, she put up no fight as he ravished her mouth, did not flinch away as he moved his hand down her neck and towards her breasts … _forgive me Danny, forgive me Danny, forgive me Danny_ she repeated over and over in her mind. As his hand found it's target and squeezed Lucretia heard Marcus' voice again; "C'mon Greg, let's leave him to his fun". She heard two sets of footsteps ascend the steps and then a door opened. As soon as the door slammed shut Will released her. "I'm so sorry", he whispered releasing her. She stared, "did I hurt you?" he asked, "I swear I didn't mean to". She shook her head automatically. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning and running soundlessly up the cellar steps. Don't go, Lucretia wanted to say but her throat was so dry she could only manage a feeble croak. "You must be thirsty", he said, coming out of the gloom with a bottle of water. "I'll tell Greg I took it, that I needed it after … you know", he said holding the bottle to her lips, she gulped it down gratefully. "Thank you", she said, her voice still sounded hoarse. "I bet your hungry too", he said, "there's no food down here, but I'll try and get some to you. What's your name?" he asked as he started to loosen the knots that bound her arms and legs together. "Lucie", she whispered, "why are you helping me?" she asked as the ropes that held her fell away. "Thank you", she said again massaging her wrists and stretching her legs gingerly. "Do you want to stand?" he asked, "walk around a bit?" She nodded and he helped her to her feet, she staggered against him but he held her steady. "You didn't answer my question", she said as he helped her walked up and down the small floor space. "I'm helping you because unlike my father I know the difference between right and wrong", he said. Lucretia thought about this for a moment; "you're very brave", she finally said, he chuckled, but it was a thoroughly unamused sound. "If I was brave I never would have agreed to come down here, to hurt you, if I was brave I would have stood up to him", he said, gritting his teeth and lowering Lucretia back onto her chair. "What and leave me here alone, unaware that someone up there is on my side?" he watched her for a moment, contemplating what she had said. "I'll get you out of here Lucie", he said, "I promise". She shook her head and smiled at him; "you shouldn't make promises you can't keep".


	13. Search and Rescue?

**13. Search and Rescue?**

"Right, we've narrowed it down to three possible locations, all in the highland's of Scotland"

"How have you done that?" Draco asked Harry, his eyes narrowing.

"Well there are obviously countless lakes, forests and mountains in Scotland, but only these three locations have enough of a clearing for a large manor and fit Daphne's description"

"So what next?" asked Draco, looking from Harry to Ron and Dean.

"We'll send in teams of Auror's to each location", said Ron, "ten in each - it should be plenty"

"Make it plenty", Draco snarled, "I want to come", he demanded. Harry hesitated. "What?" Draco snapped, "I won't be left at home twiddling my thumbs"

"Draco this is personal to you", Harry said tentatively.

"It's personal to everyone! Ron's in charge of the whole case and he's her Uncle!"

"You're her father Draco, shouldn't you be with Ginny?"

"You know as well as I do that she'd want me there! Please", he added more softly. Harry looked at Ron who looked thoroughly unsure. "You can go with the secondary task force", Dean said, "that way you aren't in the thick of it but you'll be close enough when we find her"

Draco looked like he might argue but Dean kept his gaze steady and Draco finally nodded stiffly. "OK", said Ron, looking relieved, "we need to assemble everyone and split them into groups"

"When are you going?" asked Draco.

"As soon as we're prepared, we can't rush this Draco, for Lucie's sake we all have to be ready - we don't know how many of them there are, we need to take that into consideration"

Draco nodded stiffly again, not trusting himself to speak.

Will looked at his watch and then at Lucretia with an agonised expression on his face; "they'll probably be back soon", he said softly. She nodded and sat back down on her chair. "Do what you have to do", she said, trying to smile. He shuddered slightly and then reached forward and ripped her school shirt, several buttons flew off. "Take off your shoes and socks", he said gently, she did as she was told, standing up again and twisting her skirt and fluffing her hair to make it messy, Will gave her a strained smile; "you might want to lie on the floor, get a bit dirty, make it look like you've been crying too". She complied again, he heard the scrape of the bolt on the cellar door, "stay down there he hissed, face the wall, curl up!" the door opened, "I'm going to try and make sure you don't have to be tied up again", he whispered hurridly before seating himself on her chair and crossing his legs, he forced a grin and waited. His father and Greg descended the stairs. "Finished?" his father asked, a grin on his own face. Will winked and shook the water bottle that was in his right hand; "hope you don't mind Greg, the little bitch was thirsty work if you catch my drift", Greg chuckled and Marcus looked delighted. "We should get the little princess tied back up", he said starting towards her. "I don't think there's any need father", Will said, working hard to keep his voice calm, "I doubt she can walk; besides I may want to come back for extra helpings and all those knots complicate things". It was Marcus' turn to laugh, Greg joining in; "very well", he said, "you can do what you will with her, we have other matters to attend to any way, you truly are your father's son Will", he said slapping Will on the back and steering him towards the stairs, Greg followed them and a few moments later Lucretia heard the door slam shut, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I want to come", Danny demanded, standing in the doorway of the living room, the Christmas holiday's had just begun but he was definitely not in the mood for Christmas cheer. Draco and Seamus turned to look at him, they had been unaware that he was there. "Danny, that's completely out of the question", Seamus said quietly, "you're not old enough"

"I want to come", Danny repeated staring at his father and Godfather. Seamus sighed and looked helplessly at Draco. Draco looked into Danny's eyes and Danny stared calmly back, waiting. Draco said nothing so Danny continued, "if you don't let me come I'll just have to follow you there". Draco's eyes flashed, he could tell that Danny was serious, he obviously knew more about the plan than he should do. "Danny, Seamus is right, this is too dangerous for you, however -" he said holding up a hand to silence Danny's interruption, "- I am sure that you're serious when you say you'll follow us, and that is even more dangerous. If Seamus and Romilda consent then you can come along with me as part of the secondary team, perhaps Seamus would even be willing to come along too", he finished with a look at Seamus who sighed and nodded heavily. "Thank you", said Danny with a nod, "I just want to find her"

"I know", said Draco, "and we will, now come on, we have to get to the Ministry, they'll be leaving any minute".

Lucretia heard the bolt on the door scrape back and held her breath praying that it was Will and not Marcus or Greg. "Lucie?" came a whisper through the gloom, she exhaled, it was Will. She sat up and turned towards him, "you came back", she breathed smiling at him. "Of course I did", he said, "I'm going to get you out Lucie, right now"

"Now?" she repeated, getting shakily to her feet, "are you sure?"

"It's the best chance we've got, they're all in the briefing room on the top floor, they'll be in there for hours, and my mother's out"

"What if they catch us?"

"They won't if we get moving now, Lucie come on!" he said holding out his hand to her.

"My wand!" she choked.

"I don't know where it is but I have mine, and I have food and water, come on let's go!"

She took his hand and he smiled leading her towards the stairs, they crept as quickly and quietly as they could up the stairs, Lucretia still shaky on her feet. When the reached the top Will paused and listened for a moment before opening the door, he glanced around the deserted hallway and then pulled Lucretia out of the cellar and closed the door as quietly as he could before bolting it. He then grabbed her hand again and they ran silently to the huge double doors. Holding his breath Will twisted the knob and pulled it open just wide enough for them to slip through and then pulled it shut again once they were outside. The cold air washed over Lucretia and she inhaled it's freshness gratefully, squinting slightly at the daylight, she had been so used to the dark. "Here", Will said pulling a hooded sweatshirt from his backpack, she took it gratefully and slipped it over her shredded shirt. Then he tapped her on the head with his wand and she shuddered at the sensation creeping through her body, he must have performed a disillusionment charm on her, she looked down, he had. He then tapped himself on the head and he slowly disappeared before her eyes. He fumbled invisibly until he found her hand and then tugged her forwards down the steps, they were moving as quickly as possible towards the dense body of trees that surrounded her prison.

"What was that?" asked Marcus looking up sharply from his plans and staring at the other three men in the room. They all shook their heads as the four of them drew their wands. An almighty crash had sounded from several floors below. Marcus headed out first, the other's following in his wake, wands ready. They descended floor after floor until they reached the vast hallway, they front doors were hanging off their hinges but before any of them could register the fact they all dropped like flies as the silent stunning spells hit them. "Bind them", said Dean. Four Auror's rushed forward to bind the prisoners, another picked up their wands. "That's Flint, Harper, Goyle and Vaisy", said Ron, "any sign of the wife and son?" Dean shook his head; "nothing so far, no sign of Lucie either. Veritaserum?" he asked. It was Ron's turn to nod; "let's see if Flint can't help us with our enquiries …" Dean walked over to the biggest of the four prisoners and reversed the stunning spell, Marcus looked up at them his eyes bulging; "where is she?" Dean snarled. Marcus sneered; "don't know who you're talking about"

"Wrong answer", said Dean forcing the veritaserum down his throat. Marcus coughed and spluttered for a moment. "Now let's try again", said Ron, "where is Lucretia Malfoy?"

"In the cellar", Marcus said at once.

"Where?"

"Over there", he gestured with his head. Three Auror's ran in the direction immediately, Ron turned back to Flint; "is she hurt?"

"Not as such"

"Have you hurt her?"

"No"

"Has someone else?"

"My son had some fun with her"

Ron felt revolted, he didn't need to ask what that meant; "where is your son?"

"I don't know"

Ron turned away from him, too angry to speak, to even look at him. A voice sounded from the direction of the cellar; "we've found it! But it's empty, she's not here!"

"Is there more than one cellar?" Dean demanded.

"No"

"Then where is she?"

"I don't know, must've escaped"

"With your son?"

"I don't know"

"Jeez, for someone who masterminded this whole thing you sure don't know much"

Flint shrugged. Dean wanted to punch him. "Search the grounds!" he called to his team, "if Lucretia Malfoy has escaped she can't have got far!"

"Can - we - stop - now?" Lucretia panted trying to pull Will back. She used to be so fit, she had had to be to play Quidditch, but the last few days had weakened her. "OK", he said allowing her to pull his hand, he could tell that she had sat down, they were pretty deep into the woods now so he felt safe to remove their disillusionment charms. He did his own first then felt around for the top of her head before removing hers. "Thanks", she said, "it's so much easier when I can see you, and myself". He smiled, looking at her he realised how much the last few hours of walking had done to her, she was paler than he'd ever seen anyone, her hair lank and her eyes missing a sparkle he was certain they would usually have. He looked up at the sky through the trees, it was dusk, soon it would be dark. "What is it?" asked Lucretia, also looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark", he replied, "perhaps we should call it a day, try and get some sleep and carry on tomorrow?" he suggested, placing his rucksack on the ground and seating himself next to her. "How far is it?" she asked, looking round at the dense forest which is all that surrounded them. "Three miles to the road, we've walked about two today", he replied, pulling some sandwiches from the bag and handing them to her. She took them gratefully. "And once we get to the road?" she asked, almost afraid to know the answer. "It's fifteen miles to the nearest house, we can seek shelter there, we might be lucky though, someone may drive past and we can hitch a lift". Lucretia nodded but didn't answer, she didn't want to ask about food and water, she was certain that there wasn't enough in that rucksack. "My dad will find me", she said, "I know he will". Will smiled and started gathering dry leaves and sticks for a fire; "it's going to be cold tonight Lucie", he said, "always is up here".

"We need to split up and search!" Ron called to all the assembled witches and wizards, it was dawn and a collection of Auror's and volunteers had congregated to help find Lucretia, "we will search in pairs - divide up! Now then it looks as though Lucretia Malfoy has escaped, alone or with an accomplice. Our priority is to find her and find her fast, the weather here is harsh and she may be delusional, her living conditions have not been great these past few days. We spread out, we need searchers in the woods here -" he pointed, "- and here, I will also take a small group and head for the road, if she is with an accomplice that's their likely destination, we already have a search team scanning the lake. Any questions?" no one raised their hand, "good, now if you get into trouble send up red sparks and if you find Lucretia send up green. Good luck everybody!" The pairs spread out along the lining of the forests and then set off in parallel lines. Ron sighed and then set off to the road with Draco, Ginny, Harry and Hermione, none of them spoke. None of them knew what to say.

Will looked up at the sky again, he guessed it was about seven o'clock, dawn had arrived half an hour ago, he and Lucretia should have got moving then but he couldn't bear to wake her. She was curled against his side to keep warm, he hadn't got a wink of sleep, he had stayed awake to keep the fire going, levitating firewood onto it every now and again. But he knew they had to get moving, they had to find the road - his stomach grumbled - they had to find food. He shook her gently and she opened her eyes slowly, blinking up at him; "sorry", he said, "but we really have to get going". She nodded, sitting up and stretching, "do you want some food?" he asked her. "No", she replied groggily, "we should save it, we might need it". He nodded in agreement before extinguishing the fire. "Let's get going then", he said. They walked in silence for what seemed like hours, Lucretia though that they should surely have reached the road by now. She was about to ask Will how much longer they had to walk when she thought she heard her name. She whipped round, "are you OK?" Will asked, startled by her sudden movement. "Yes", she answered, "I'm fine, I just thought I heard …", she trailed off, listening hard, she could have sworn she heard it again. "Heard what?" asked Will, looking around nervously. "My name", she said quietly. "Where?" he asked, just as quietly, she gestured towards the trees. He walked a little way in that direction despite himself, she followed, still listening hard. _"Lucie?"_ That was it! She had definitely heard her name, she lurched forward a few more feet overtaking Will who seemed stunned. Whoever it was called her name again and her heart almost burst - it couldn't be. "Danny?" she whispered, coming to a stop, to shocked to move her feet anymore. He called her name again, this time she was sure, she wasn't dreaming. "Danny!" she screamed. Will jumped. _"Lucie!"_

"Danny!" she screamed again, running towards his voice, brambles caught her legs as she struggled through the undergrowth. He called her name again, he sounded closer, so very close, "Danny! Danny! Danny!" she screamed feeling her voice hitch, her throat felt raw. She heard movement behind her, Will had caught up; "we're going to be OK", she breathed. She turned back towards where she had heard Danny and set off again, she heard Will following on behind her. _"Lucie?" _he sounded the closest he'd ever been. "I'm here Danny!" she shouted, he voice failing at the end. She heard a distant crashing and hurried towards it as fast as her body and the forest would allow. It was a few minutes until she saw him, when she locked eyes with him her heart almost stopped, she couldn't help it, she burst into tears. He ran to her, his arms closed around her and she collapsed against his chest sobbing, she felt tears in her hair and knew that he was crying too. She was vaguely aware of Will and another presence but all she could think about was Danny as he held her so tightly it felt like he would never let her go, and she didn't want him to.


	14. Reunited

**A/N: **A new chappie dear readers - enjoy!

**14. Reunited**

Seamus felt tears sting his own eyes as he saw Danny embrace Lucretia, it took him a moment to realise that there was someone else present. He pointed his wand at the boy, he was thick-set and dark haired, he could only be Marcus Flint's son; "don't move", he snarled, "what did you do to her?" he demanded. He had heard from Ron what Flint had said about his son 'having fun' with Lucretia. "Nothing", the boy said, his hands raised in a pose of surrender, his wand at his feet. "Don't lie to me, if you've touched one hair on her head". Will shook his head but it was Lucretia who spoke. "No!" she exclaimed, pushing away from Danny and grabbing Seamus' wand hand, "please he didn't do anything to me! He helped me, he just pretended to … to hurt me so his father wouldn't! Please, he helped me escape!" Seamus lowered his wand and Lucretia let go of his arm. "OK, well we need a rescue team here, you'll both need to go so St. Mungo's", said Seamus raising his wand and sending up green sparks. Lucretia turned back to Danny and clutched him tightly. The four of them waited. They didn't need to wait long, there were faint popping noises as people apparated around them. "Lucie!" the cry was echoed on all sides but the voices she registered most prominently were her parents, she tore herself away from Danny's embrace and stumbled towards them. She fell into her mother's arms, she recognised her warm, comforting scent, unable to focus on her as she was blinded by tears again, she heard her Uncle Ron talking to Will, she wanted to tell him that he'd done nothing wrong but Seamus was explaining. She felt the cool embrace of her father envelope both her and her mother; "I love you Lucie", he choked, his voice full of emotion, "I will never let anyone or anything hurt you again."

Lucretia awoke later in St. Mungo's her parents either side of her bed, she blinked and saw them smiling at her, she smiled back. "How long was I asleep?" she asked, her voice still slightly groggy. "About ten hours", Ginny said. "Wow , really? And you guys have been here the whole time?" she asked, looking between her parents, they both looked like they needed a decent nights sleep. "Yes, of course, we didn't want to leave you", said Draco as Ginny squeezed her hand. "I'm safe now you know, you don't have to watch over me, you both look like you could use some sleep", she said pointedly, "I'm sure you could get someone else to baby sit me". Ginny laughed and even Draco managed a smile, "we'll all go home together", he said, "the healers said you can leave later today". Lucretia smiled at this piece of news, then frowned as she remembered; "where's Will?" she asked, almost fearfully. "He's been released already, he's with the Auror's", said Ginny quietly. "What? Why? I already told Seamus, he didn't do anything to me, he saved me!" Lucretia exclaimed trying to get out of bed, Draco restrained her gently pushing her back down. "It's just routine Lucie", he soothed, "besides both his parents have been arrested, he can't go home". Lucretia stopped struggling but looked sceptical; "what's going to happen to him?" she asked, she saw her parents exchange a glance. "We don't know", Ginny admitted, squeezing her hand again. Lucretia sighed; "is Danny here?" she asked finally. "Yes", said Ginny, sounding relieved that she had dropped the 'Will' subject. "Can I see him?" she asked. "Of course you can, we'll send him in. Draco … let's go and get some coffee", said Ginny, Draco hesitated but made to follow his wife; "we'll be back soon Lucie", he said.

Danny walked in moments later and Lucretia beamed at him, he beamed back and hurried to her side gathering her up into a gentle yet tight embrace. She held him close to her, inhaling his familiar scent, she had missed him more than she thought possible. "I though I was going to lose you Lucie", he breathed against her neck. She released him and cupped his face in her hands looking him right in the eye; "never", she said firmly, before pressing her lips to his. He pulled away from her after what seemed like a lifetime and scooted onto the bed, facing her. She took his hands in hers and smiled. "Are you sure you're OK?", he asked after a minute.

"Yes, I'm fine, I wish people would stop asking me"

"I'm sorry"

"It's OK, I just want to forget what happened"

"I know, do you know when you're coming home?"

"Today dad said"

"Oh good, just in time"

"For what?"

"For Christmas of course!"

"Already?"

"It's Christmas Eve today Luce"

"Are you kidding? Wow … I've missed so much"

"Are you OK?" he asked again as her face fell.

"I was just thinking about Will"

"What about him?"

"What's he going to do for Christmas?"

"Seamus said he'll be staying with his aunt and uncle for now"

"That's OK then, I hate to think of him alone"

"What … what happened Lucie?" he asked quietly. She didn't need to ask what he meant.

"They didn't touch me", she said, "thanks to Will, I thought they were going to - to hurt me and then I thought that - well I thought that Will was going to hurt me - he - well he -"

"He what Luce?" he whispered, scared of what he might hear.

"He was a bit rough - he had to be to convince them - but well, he kissed me"

"What?" Danny's eyebrows shot up and he looked furious.

"No!" Lucretia pleaded grabbing his hands more tightly, "he did it to protect me! He had to make his father think he was going to hurt me but as soon as his father left him to it he stopped! He got water for me and untied me and then later on he risked his own life to help me escape! I owe him my life Danny, he saved me"

"I'm sorry", said Danny, "I just don't like the thought of anyone else near you"

"I know", she said, "I'm sorry too, you were all I could think about"

"You don't have to apologise, none of this is your fault"

"I thought I'd never see you again"

"Ssh, we're here now that's all that matters", he said, pulling her into his arms again as tears started falling down her cheeks again, "I love you Lucie", he whispered. Her breath hitched in her throat at his words; "I love you too", she answered, clutching him tighter.

Lucretia was discharged from hospital a few hours later, she was flanked by her parents and followed by Danny as they left the hospital. There were several reporters outside but Draco kept them at bay with his steely stare, they were in the car within seconds. It had been decided that, under the circumstances, the whole family would be spending Christmas at Malfoy Manor as it was the only place big enough to accommodate them all. Danny's family would also be joining them. As they pulled up to the Manor Lucretia grinned as she saw her brothers and her sister running down the front steps towards the car, she jumped out immediately ignoring Draco's protests that she was over exerting herself and ran to greet them, they caught her in a tight embrace and the four of them were soon sobbing uncontrollably. The tears did not subside as Lucretia was reunited with her whole family, her Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins all took turns in welcoming her home. By the time everyone had their emotions under control it was time for dinner which was always a chaotic experience when everyone had got together. Lucius proposed a toast at the end of the meal; "to everyone who helped bring my beautiful Granddaughter home safely, and of course, to Lucie!". "To Lucie!", everyone echoed beaming widely at her.

After dinner the cousins set up camp in the old ballroom as the adults retired to the sitting room, Danny had been coerced into doing a jigsaw with the twins and Alfie although he would have much rather spent this time with Lucretia. However she was surrounded my Amelia, Roxanne and Victoire who were catching her up to speed with the latest gossip. "Gotcha!" Victoire's account of Kara Bones huge falling out with Stacey Turner was interrupted by a triumphant sound from Fred, who had seemingly just beaten Octavia at wizard's chess. "You know I think I might go and get myself a drink", said Amelia, rising from the beanbag she was sat on and drifting from the room. "You were saying?" said Lucretia, turning back to Victoire. "You know, I've completely lost my train of thought", she said, "I think I might get a drink too, do you girls want anything?" she asked as she rose gracefully from her own beanbag. "Oh, please", said Roxanne. "Do you want a hand?" asked Lucretia, preparing to get up. "No, no, it's fine, I'm sure you want to hear all about Roxanne's latest date with James".

Victoire hurried down the hallway and into the kitchen where she found Amelia pouring herself a glass of juice, she closed the door carefully behind her. "We need to talk", she said. Amelia jumped, and turned to face her; "about what?" she asked.

"What do you mean about what? About what you told me the other week!"

"I don't want -"

"Tough, I let it go when Lucie was missing, but she's back now, we need to deal with this!"

"How?"

"I got you a test"

"What?"

"Yeah, I had to do some nifty transfiguration while I was in Hogsmede last so no one would recognise me when I bought it"

"You didn't have to do that"

"Yes I did, if it was left to you you would have just swept it under the carpet and convinced yourself nothing was happening when you started to gain weight"

Amelia flinched. Victoire felt a stab of guilt but disregarded it, the girl needed a wake up call.

"You're doing this test Milly"

"Not today Vicky, please, it's Christmas!"

"It's today or tomorrow Milly, you can't put this off forever!"

"I know, I know … OK, tomorrow"

"What?"

"I need time to get my head around this and it will be easier to slip away tomorrow with everyone opening their presents and stuff …" she tailed off.

"OK fine, but no backing out, you will do it tomorrow, or I'll have to tell someone"

"No, Vicky, please!"

"I won't. So long as you do the test."

When Victoire and Amelia returned they found Narcissa telling everyone it was time for bed; "come on everyone", she said kindly, "up to bed now, you all need your rest, you've got a busy day tomorrow". Victoire and Amelia shared a look, she wasn't wrong.


	15. Night Time Wanderings

**A/N: **New chapter! It's pretty short so I'll be uploading another one for you lovely readers :)

**WARNING** sexy chapter; if you don't like sexy chapters, feel free to skip on over to the next one!

**15. Night Time Wanderings**

Lucretia glanced at the clock again, it was four minutes passed midnight, it was definitely officially Christmas Day now, her heart hammered in her chest as she pulled back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, as soon as her feet touched the floor she heard Victoire's voice through the darkness; "where are you going?" she demanded, quietly but menacingly. "Nowhere", Lucretia whispered, trying not to sound too guilty. "Yeah like hell you're not, just be careful alright", said Victoire, stifling a yawn. Lucretia grinned through the darkness; "cover for me yeah?" she asked as she tip toed to the door. She heard Victoire's 'humph', which she took to mean yes and slipped out of their room, closing the door silently behind her. She tip toed down the hallway trying not to shiver as she headed towards her target, it was cold as it was and her pyjamas covered little skin. She finally reached the door she wanted and turned the knob opening it as silently as she had her own, she closed it just as quietly and slid the lock across. She crept towards the bed and saw in the dim moonlight that shone through the pale curtains that he was asleep. She took a moment to study him, his hair at odd angles, his features smooth, he looked content, like a sleeping angel, she knelt on the side of the bed, praying that it's springs didn't squeak and reached out to touch him. He was soft under her touch, she smiled as he stirred a little, he mumbled a little and she thought she heard her name, she wondered if he was dreaming about her or if he just sensed her presence. She then became aware of how very cold it was, she took a deep breath and before she could change her mind she crawled under the covers and pressed herself against his warm body.

Danny woke abruptly as if he'd been shocked, it took him a few seconds to realise that he was not alone anymore; "what -" he began but an icy hand silenced him, he peered through the dim light and saw her, "Lucie what are you doing in here?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. She didn't answer, instead she pulled his body closer to her, feeling the heat that radiated from him and kissed him more passionately than she ever had before. Danny felt the urgency in her kiss and responded with the same raw need. He reluctantly pulled away several moments later gasping; he looked at her again and she stared back steadily, her eyes focused on him. "Lucie", he said again, "what are you doing?" she looked at him, blinking a few times, he waited, her hands slid from behind his back to his chest; "you know it was really quite inconvenient being kidnapped", she said, he waited, unsure of what to say but then she continued; "it meant I couldn't get you a Christmas present", he still wasn't sure what to say, but again she continued; "I was awake trying to think about it, and then it came to me, the perfect present", he noted the change in her tone, she sounded husky, almost seductive. Before he could ask her icy hands trailed down his chest to his stomach finally coming to rest at the waistband of his pyjama bottoms. He shivered, whether because of the cold or desire he wasn't sure. He looked at her again quizzically this time and she raised one perfect eyebrow at him. He suddenly caught on, making the connection between her behaviour and what she had said; "Lucie, are you sure?" he breathed, staring at her in wonder. "Yes I'm sure", she said, gliding her hands back up his chest and pulling him even closer, he was pressed so tightly against her now he could barely contain his excitement; "now enough talk", she said pulling his lips to hers again.

He could hardly believe what she had said but he couldn't even think now as her soft, full lips worked with his, more passionate and forceful than he'd ever imagined they'd be. He was hungry for more, he moved his hand over her waist and down to her hips before flipping her over so she was lying on her back, he climbed astride her and her breathing became more ragged. He noted the increase in his own heart beat before bending down and crushing his lips against hers again. Lucie had to pull away, she was desperate for oxygen, she turned her head to the side and Danny took up his cause at her neck, he found the sensitive spot by her collarbone and nipped it gently causing her to moan softly and arch her body towards him. He took encouragement from her behaviour and let his hands wander up from her hips over her smooth, flat stomach, she felt the butterflies flutter even harder but it was a good sensation. His hands moved further up towards her breasts and she gasped as he tenderly massaged them. She could feel herself growing hot and moaned again as he reclaimed her lips. She arched her hips towards him, impatient for him to fulfil her newly discovered need. He got the hint, first sliding her pyjama top from under her and tossing it aside, he then grabbed his wand from the bedside table and muttered what could only be a contraceptive charm. His lips then found hers again in the semi darkness and his hand wandered slowly towards her shorts finally slipping beneath them, she felt his warm fingers against her arousal and she moaned more loudly into his mouth, she could feel him against her thigh, and again arched towards him her hands snaking down to his waistband. He pulled away from her, she was confused for a moment but then realised that he was stripping off his own pyjamas before turning his attention back to hers. He slid the shorts down her long smooth legs and tossed them aside along with his own, he slid his hands along her legs, pulling his body up between them, she shivered in anticipation as she felt him uncovered against her thigh. "You're sure", he whispered, looking her in the eye, she nodded. "I love you", he said against her ear before kissing her throat again. "I love you too", she gasped. On her words he pushed into her slowly, her cry of pain was swallowed as his mouth covered hers again, she clutched his face to hers, kissing the pain away, he stayed still within her until she nodded to show the pain had subsided. He began to move gently and she moved with him, thankfully the springs stayed silent as he moved more quickly. She came first, him seconds later, they both lay there in each others arms trying to regain their breath. Lucretia almost giggled as a thought popped into her head, at least she wasn't cold anymore.

Danny finally slid off her after what seemed like hours, he pulled the covers over them both and pulled Lucretia's now warm body against him. She snuggled into his embrace laying her head on his chest so she could hear his heart. She was content just listening to the steady thud, it was better than any lullaby she could think of. "You know", Danny whispered eventually, "that has to be the best Christmas present I ever had", Lucretia grinned widely although he couldn't see that; "really?" she said after a moment, "the best ever?" it was his turn to grin; "the best ever", he repeated kissing the top of her head. They lay there in silence for several more minutes before Lucretia sighed; "I suppose I should go back to my own room", she said although she made no move to go. "Mhmm", Danny replied, although his arms stayed tight around her. "I suppose I could just stay a few more minutes", she said. Danny grinned again; "just a few more minutes", he agreed. They were both asleep within seconds.


	16. Merry Christmas

**16. Merry Christmas**

Lucretia stirred, opening her eyes a fraction she noticed that it was daylight, she opened them wider and yawned suddenly becoming aware that her head was resting on Danny's chest and not her pillow. She cursed inwardly, they must've fallen asleep, she hoped it was still early enough that she could slip out of his room and make it back to hers without being caught. She sighed and felt Danny's fingers run up and down her back. He was awake too, she lifted her head to look at him for a moment before kissing him good morning. "What are you still doing here?" he asked in an amused voice when they broke apart. "I must've fallen asleep", she murmured, he grinned, she couldn't help it, she smiled back. "I need to get back to my room!" she said after a moment. As much as he didn't want to let her out of his bed he knew it would be better for everyone if no one knew about her night time excursion. He unwound his arms from around her and she sat up and stretched, he blinked rapidly as he watched her, desire flooding through him again, her body looked as good in the daylight as it had felt last night. He couldn't believe how lucky he was, she was about to reach for her pyjamas when a knock sounded on the door. The both froze.

It took half a second for them to get moving, "hide!" Danny mouthed at her as he scrambled as quickly and quietly as he could out of bed and into his pyjama bottoms. Lucretia crawled under the bed and Danny kicked her pyjamas under it before walking to answer the door. He scraped back the lock, mentally grinning as he realised how meticulous she had been with her planning, he took a breath and opened the door. "Draco!" he exclaimed, "morning, uhm, Merry Christmas", he said keeping his voice as even as possible. "Merry Christmas to you too, may I ask why your door was locked?" he added, his voice smooth and unsuspecting. Danny gulped, time for quick thinking; "I was about to get changed so I, erm, locked it … my sisters get really excited at Christmas, I didn't want them to come barging in", he finished, praying that Draco bought it. "Good thinking", he said, "anyway, I thought I'd let you know everyone's up, well almost everyone, I was just on my way to wake Lucie and Vicky so I thought I'd stop by you first", he finished with a smile. "Right, OK then yeah, I'll be down as soon as I'm dressed", he said also smiling, Draco nodded and set off down the corridor. Danny's heart hammered as he closed the door, he turned to see Lucretia pulling her pyjama top over her head. "What now?" Danny asked stricken as he though of where Draco was headed. "We just have to hope that Vicky's as good at covering as you are", she said biting her lip.

Victoire was pacing up and down the room she shared with Lucretia, she still wasn't back which meant that she was still with Danny. There was no way that she could have come and gone with out her knowing. A knock sounded on the door, Victoire's first thought was that Lucretia was back, but she dismissed it immediately, she never knocked. That could only mean trouble. She darted quickly into the en suite bathroom and turned on the shower, careful not to get any of the spray on herself. The she darted back to the door, composed herself and opened it; "Merry Christmas Uncle Draco!" she said brightly. "Merry Christmas Vicky", he said with a warm smile, "is Lucie up?" he asked. Victoire smiled, "yes she is, she's just this minute got in the shower, do you want me to tell her to hurry up?" she asked, hoping her bluff worked. "No, no of course not, let her take her time, I just wanted to let you know that everyone else is up". Victoire nodded, "we'll be down as soon as we're ready", she said, smiling again. "Right, see you down there then", said Draco tuning and heading down the main staircase. Victoire closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief, counting to ten slowly before she threw open the door and ran down the hallway to Danny's room, she glanced around and then knocked quietly; "it's Victoire", she hissed through the door. Danny opened the door immediately, Lucretia just behind him. "You", she said grabbing her and pulling her out, "go, get in the shower, that's where I told your dad you were, and you -", she said pointing at Danny as Lucretia hurried back down the hallway, "get dressed and down there pronto, you cannot arrive at the same time". Danny nodded his appreciation; "thank you Vicky, we owe you one", he said with a grin. "Yeah, well, don't think I'll forget that", she said with a sly smile of her own.

The morning went by in a blur, an insanely busy blur, so it wasn't until after Christmas lunch that everyone managed to squeeze themselves into the living room to open their presents that Victoire and Amelia managed to have a hushed conversation under cover of the sounds of wrapping paper being torn and people exclaiming over their new gifts. "Give it ten more minutes until they're really into it then we can slip out", Victoire whispered almost soundlessly to Amelia; "Yeah OK", she replied, "upstairs bathroom OK?" Victoire nodded and turned back to her own pile of presents.

"Oh Danny, I hope you didn't spend too much money!" scolded Lucretia as she took the silver wrapped box that Danny held out to her. He grinned and she rolled her eyebrows. "You did didn't you?" she asked, shaking her head, "oh, now I feel even worse about not getting you anything", Danny shook his head and laughed at her; "Lucie, would you shut up and just open it already!" Lucretia grinned and unwrapped the present slowly, she tossed the wrapping paper aside and opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful silver necklace she had ever seen in her life. It was in the shape of a heart, half of it made up by a garnet and the other half was made up by a diamond. "Danny it is so beautiful thank you so much!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "They're our birth stones", he said proudly, "you really like it?"

"Oh, Danny, I love it!"

"Good, and I love you"

"I love you too", she replied, giving him a small peck on the lips.

Draco stiffened, he and Ginny were squeezed onto an armchair near where Danny and Lucretia were sat on the floor and had heard every word of the exchange. Ginny placed a hand firmly but reassuringly on his upper arm and he relaxed slightly. "Draco will you calm down", she hissed. He looked at her slightly guiltily; "sorry love, it's just that … well, I didn't expect …"

"I know, but they've loved each other all their lives"

"Not in that way though!"

"Oh, come on, as if you would approve of anyone else being with her"

Draco harrumphed and Ginny had to fight to keep a straight face.

"She's only fifteen", he whined.

"She's very mature for her age"

"Not too mature I hope", he said darkly.

"It's going to happen one day Draco - they're in love"

"She's my little girl!"

"So you'd rather her be with a boy who didn't love her?"

" - no", he scowled, he was her father, his hands were well and truly tied.

Amelia scurried down the corridor on the first floor of the Manor casting looks behind her every few seconds. She was terrified, she had just managed to escape from the living room whilst Roxanne was admiring Lucretia's new necklace, she just hoped they wouldn't wonder where she was any time soon. Now she was in the bathroom, perched on the edge of the bath shaking, she hoped Victoire would hurry up, it felt as though she was taking forever to run and grab the pregnancy test from her room. After what seemed like a lifetime the door opened and Victoire slipped inside and handed her the box. "What do I do?" she asked in a whisper. "You pee on it", Victoire replied, "I'll wait outside, tell me when you've done it and I'll come back in". Amelia nodded not trusting herself to speak and opened the box with shaking fingers. After she had taken the test she called Victoire back in and reclaimed her perch on the edge of the bath while she took the toilet lid. "Now what?" asked Amelia, her voice now as shaky as her hands. "We wait three minutes; if it turns green you're pregnant, and if you're not it turns red". Amelia nodded again and started counting in her head. When she reached one hundred and eighty she looked at Victoire; "is it time?" she asked, Victoire nodded and picked up the test without turning it over; "do you want to?" she asked, offering it to Amelia who shook her head; "no you do it please!" she asked. Victoire turned it over to look at the colour and her eyes widened just as the door to the bathroom opened.

Romilda stood in the door of the bathroom taking in the two stunned expressions that greeted her before her eyes travelled to the stick in Victoire's hand. She marched in and shut the door, locking it behind her; "what's going on?" she demanded, looking from Victoire to Amelia. Amelia cast a helpless look at Victoire, her eyes filling with tears. "Who's is the test?" asked Romilda. "Mine", said both of the girls at the same time.

"Who's?" she repeated.

"It's mine", whispered Amelia, "Vicky's just trying to cover for me"

"Amelia! But you don't even have a boyfriend!"

"I know!" she exclaimed, tears falling now, "I made a stupid, drunken mistake!"

"Oh Amelia!" said Romilda, dropping to her knees to hug the sobbing girl.

"Please - don't - tell - my mum - and - dad!" she managed to choke out.

"Oh, sweetie, we might not have a choice, what did the test say?" she asked, turning to a stunned Victoire expectantly. Victoire shook her head, "it was negative"

"What? Are you sure?" asked Amelia, so shocked she had stopped sobbing immediately.

"Yeah it's red I'm sure"

"Oh thank God!"

"Amelia wait", said Romilda, "Vicky, did you say red?"

"Yeah, red, red's negative"

"No it's not", said Romilda sadly, "you've got it mixed up, red is positive"

"What?" choked out Amelia

"But -" began Victoire

"Trust me, I remember taking all my tests, all those red windows … I'm sorry, but it's positive"

"Are you sure? They might have just changed it or -" gabbled Victoire.

"I'm sorry they haven't, I did a test recently, but it was negative … green"

"Oh God", whispered Victoire, finally accepting Romilda's words.

"I'm having a baby?" Amelia asked, her face completely blank.

"Yes sweetie, I'm so sorry but you're going to have to tell your parents"

"No!" she exclaimed, "no I can't, I can't, please Romilda promise me you won't tell them!"

"Amelia, they need to know!"

"No I can't, I just can't! Please I need to sort my head out first!"

"You can't put this off forever!"

"I know, I know that, I just need to … I just need a few days OK?"

"Amelia -"

"Please Romilda! If anyone understands it's you!"

"I know … I know and I do …"

"So?"

"So, I'll give you a few days, but you need to tell them soon!"

"I will, I promise"

"OK, do you want me to leave you two alone so you can clear up?"

"Please"

"Alright", she said, standing up and giving Amelia's shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room.

**A/N: **Hope you liked this chapter! I was going to end the fic with this chapter (making the test negative) and do a short epilogue as I've started writing another D/G fic (stay tuned for details) BUT, I just couldn't face letting go of this story yet, so I made it positive so I can carry it on. I've got a few ideas about where I want to go with it. Expect Lucie and Danny to take a back seat for a while; I'll be concentrating more on Amelia (obvs), Jonas and Danny & Harry's relationship. So yeah, stick with it please! I will update when I can :)


	17. And A Happy New Year

**A/N: **Oooft, longest chapter so far this one! Hope you like it. Just warning you guys updates may be slower from now on as I'm back at Uni full time and I may soon have a job (interview tomorrow, fingers crossed for me pleeease!) Anyway, if I go too long without updating this I may start uploading my new D/G fic. I've written about 5 chapters for it so far and it's going to be called 'To Keep Her Safe', so keep your eyes out for that. So yeah, I will update when and where I can depending on my busy, busy schedule. But for now - Enjoy the new chappie! :)

**17. And A Happy New Year**

The Malfoy's were throwing a party. The biggest party they had ever thrown. Ginny was convinced it was Draco's idea. He swore it was Lucius'. He told her it was Narcissa's. Ginny didn't believe any of them. When she walked down for an early breakfast on New Year's Eve she was greeted by a flurry of activity; Narcissa seemed to be directing a troupe of party planners who were throwing streamers and inflating balloons all around her. The dining room was completely unrecognisable, the huge table and countless chairs had seemingly vanished into thin air. "Wow", was all Ginny could muster, she had only wanted some coffee and toast. "Oh good morning Ginevra!" Narcissa exclaimed, "what do you think?"

"It's wonderful, very erm, extravagant"

"Oh I know it's a bit over the top dear, but I want tonight to be remembered"

"I'm sure it will be, really, it's fantastic"

"It's all down to Pierre here", said Narcissa, putting her arm around a very loudly dressed wizard; "Pierre, this is my daughter in law Ginevra"

"Charmed", Pierre said, taking her hand and kissing it; "such a beautiful young lady, your son is a very lucky man", Ginny smiled slightly awkwardly as Narcissa simpered.

"Oh, they are so well suited, and have such gorgeous children"

"What? But madam, you do not look old enough to be a grandmother!"

"Oh Pierre stop; really, you'll make me blush!" Narcissa exclaimed. Ginny raised her eyebrows and excused herself before hurrying into the kitchen leaving a thoroughly giddy Narcissa in her wake.

Ginny was surprised to find that the kitchen was not empty as she had expected it to be. Draco and Lucius were sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee; they looked up as she entered. "Ah, good morning Ginevra", said Lucius with a smile. "Morning", she said returning the smile. Draco stood up as she reached the table and kissed her in greeting; "morning sweetheart".

"What are you two doing up at this time?" she asked.

"Mother", said Draco as Lucius said "Cissy"

"Aah", said Ginny, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Have you met Pierre?" asked Lucius with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I have", she said with a wry smile, "quite an intriguing fellow …"

"So you're not joining the fan club then?" asked Draco.

"I think he has his hands full enough with your mother", she replied.

"Ah, your wife has more taste than mine Draco", Lucius chucked.

"Don't let Narcissa hear you say that!" Ginny mock scolded.

"No, it would be more than my life's worth to criticise her exquisite taste"

"Yes indeed, are you boys ready for tonight then?"

"As I'll ever be", said Draco wearily.

"Oh please, you love a party"

"Yes well, the guest list isn't very exclusive"

"What do you mean?"

"Potter's coming"

"Draco! I thought you two were getting on better?"

"Don't be so naïve Ginevra", interjected Lucius. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's not so much him Gin, it's his wife"

"What? Cho's coming?"

"Apparently"

"Well, she better be bringing an apology!"

"I hope we won't have a repeat of the hospital incident", Lucius said quietly and Ginny shot him another look. He chuckled at her and she scowled.

Victoire knocked on the door to the room where Amelia and Roxanne were sleeping hoping that the right girl would open the door. It had been near impossible to talk to Amelia on her own since Christmas day and Victoire was getting increasingly worried about her, plus with Romilda set to arrive later in the day it was necessary to talk to her about what she was going to tell her. Luckily it was Amelia who answered the door; "what do you want?" she hissed through the inch wide crack. "I want to talk, now, and if you don't come out, I will come in …"

"You can't, Roxie's in here!" she whispered frantically.

"Well come with me then, my rooms empty"

"Why? Where's Lucie?", she asked as she slipped through the door.

"With Danny"

"Oh"

The two walked in silence back to Victoire's room and once inside the older girl bolted the door shut and set on the bed next to her cousin. "So how come you've been avoiding me?" she asked. Amelia sighed; "I haven't"

"Yes you have, ever since we found out about the … baby …"

"Yeah, well sorry if I haven't felt like my usually chatty self"

"I don't expect you to be, I just want to help you"

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I don't know Milly … I just want to be here for you"

"I know, I know … it's just so hard …"

"Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

"About what?"

"About the baby of course"

"What do you mean?"

"Well … you know, will you keep it … or …?"

"Or what?"

"You know … you could always get a -"

"No!"

"OK, OK, I'm sorry … didn't mean to offend you or anything"

"Seriously Vicky! Are you mad? Don't you know me at all?"

"Sorry, Milly, I'm sorry … so you're keeping it then"

"Yeah …"

"God, it's going to be so hard for you"

"Really? I thought it would be a walk in the park, who knew?"

"Don't be like that Milly!"

"Like what?"

"You know what! I just want to be here for you! I want to help!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry OK?"

"Of course … look Mill … who's the baby's dad?"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Does he know?"

"No"

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I don't really have much choice do I"

"So … when?"

"When we get back to school"

"He's at school then?"

"Yes"

"Your year?"

"Vicky. Drop it please"

"Ok, well when you're ready …"

"I know"

"You know Romilda's coming today"

"I know"

"She'll want to talk to you"

"I know"

"What will you say?"

"I don't know"

"Are you going to tell your mum and dad?"

"No"

"They'll find out sooner or later"

"I know, but I'd rather it be later"

"But -"

"No! No buts, I will tell them in my own time! And if you go behind my back Vicky so help me I will never forgive you!"

"I wouldn't do that Milly! Give me some credit! I was more worried about Romilda telling them"

"She won't"

"How do you know?"

"Because she's been in exactly the same situation as me and I know what I need to tell her."

Come eleven o'clock that night the party was in full swing, music was blaring out from a seemingly invisible source and almost everyone was having a really good time. The only ones who did not seem to be enjoying the celebration were Amelia, Victoire and Romilda. The latter was perched on the armchair of her husband who was enjoying an intense conversation about quidditch with Ron and Charlie, the elder of whom was trying to convince the others that adding dragon's would make it much more fun. Romilda stared, seeing nothing, she had been worrying about Amelia since she had found out about her pregnancy on Christmas day and she was burning to talk to her about it, however, she had not yet found a way to get the girl on her own without arousing suspicion. Amelia was sat on the opposite side of the room with Roxanne and Octavia who were being entertained by the twins; Romilda thought that Amelia looked like she would rather be anywhere else in the world. Romilda knew that feeling, she knew it all too well, it brought back all the memories of when she had been pregnant with Danny. She glanced at her husband lovingly; Seamus had been her knight in shining armour, she hoped Amelia would be as lucky. From the little she had understood it was clear that she wasn't with the baby's father. Just as Romilda thought this Amelia rose up from the sofa and exited the room quickly; Romilda stood up and followed after giving Seamus' upper arm a reassuring squeeze.

As she left the dining room however Romilda found herself face-to-face with Harry; she had thought he wasn't coming. "Hi", he said slightly nervously. "Hi", she replied, glancing round him to see Amelia disappearing into a bathroom. "Erm, how are you?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine thank you, and yourself?"

"Yeah good, uhm, how was your Christmas?"

"It was lovely, we spent it here, a lot noisier than the usual, but Danny wanted to be with Lucie after what happened"

"Of course, yeah … so is Danny here?"

"Yes, he's about somewhere …"

"Right, it's just … I uhm, got him a little something for Christmas"

"You did?"

"Yeah, and a err, card for you and Seamus", he said pulling an envelope from under his robes.

"Oh, thank you very much"

"No problem. So, would it be OK … you know, to give him the present?"

"Yes of course, so long as he's OK with that"

"Thanks Romilda", he said looking truly grateful. She smiled at him properly this time; "just don't let him down Harry … and don't get your hopes too high"

"No, yeah, thanks I won't … I'll just go and find him then", he said leaning hesitantly towards her, she allowed him to kiss her cheek; "uhm see you later", he said before heading off in search of Danny.

Romilda waited until he was out of sight before marching up to the bathroom and knocking sharply on it. "I'll just be a minute!" Amelia called through the door, slightly shaky.

"It's me, open up", Romilda replied. She waited a moment before the heard the lock scrape back, she opened it and went inside before relocking it. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah fine", said Amelia, "just morning sickness … at night"

"Yeah, I never understood why they called it that"

"How long till it goes away?"

"It varies, with Danny it was very brief, but the girls made me incredibly ill"

"Oh"

"How have you been?"

"Rubbish"

"Because of the sickness, or …?"

"It's everything"

"Have you spoken to your parents yet?"

"No, I'm not ready"

"Amelia you're going to have to tell them!"

"I know, I just, you know … wanted to tell the father first"

"I thought he wasn't in the picture"

"He isn't, but … I can't hide something this big from him"

"No I suppose you can't"

"So, will you just keep quiet, just until I tell him"

"Amelia I'm not sure about this …"

"Please Romilda, I'll tell my parents just as soon as I've told him! Please?"

"OK, OK, I'll keep it quiet, but I'm not happy about this Milly!"

"Thank you so much!"

Harry poked his head around the kitchen door to see if Danny was in there but instead he found himself witnessing Ginny and Draco kissing passionately. He cleared his throat just as Draco pushed Ginny against the kitchen counter; the both whipped their heads around wearing identical looks of annoyance. "Potter, excellent timing", Draco said sarcastically, stepping away from Ginny slightly. "Perhaps you should find somewhere more private Malfoy", Harry countered with a grin, Draco smirked and looked at his wife; "it's more fun this way", he said. She winked at him and Harry rolled his eyes. "Sorry Harry", said Ginny, "I'm a terrible hostess, Narcissa will have my head, would you like a drink?"

"Wouldn't say no to a fire whiskey if there's one going"

"Well if you're going to start behaving I'm going to check on the kids", Draco said, kissing her temple as she poured Harry a drink, before he swept from the room. "He's still not my biggest fan is he?" Harry commented, taking the drink Ginny offered him. "Well no, he never will be, but you've never wanted him as a best friend have you?"

"You got me there; aren't you joining me?"

"If you insist", said Ginny, pouring herself a glass of wine; "so you finally made it?"

"Yeah, sorry we were late … Cho was just … well … being Cho"

"Is everything alright?"

"No not really"

"What's happened?"

"Nothing … I mean, nothing new"

"Meaning?"

"Danny"

"Oh"

"Yeah, she threw a fit because I bought him a Christmas present"

"Aah, did he like it?"

"I haven't given it to him yet, I was looking for him in here"

"I think he went out into the grounds with his sisters and Lucie"

"Oh"

"They should be back in soon"

"Right"

"Harry, you shouldn't feel guilty, he's your son"

"I know but … well, he's not hers"

"And that bothers her?"

"Of course it does"

"But she must understand your side"

"She does"

"Then why …?"

"Because Cho wants her own baby"

"Oh"

"We've been trying for the last few years, and it's just …"

"Not working?"

"Yes and no"

"What do you mean?"

"She's been pregnant a few times, but lost them"

Ginny stared at Harry wide eyed as he downed the rest of his fire whiskey in one. She reached out to touch his hand and comfort him, however, before she could say anymore than "oh Harry -" the kitchen door burst open and Lucretia, Danny, Jade and Zara walked in, shaking snow off them. "Oh look at the state of you lot, you're soaked through!" Ginny exclaimed.

"We had a snowball fight", said Jade happily.

"I can see that", Ginny commented.

"Danny won", Zara added, scowling at her big brother.

"Yes he does look a lot drier that the rest of you"

"You'd think he'd have more sympathy for his girlfriend", Lucretia said darkly. Danny laughed.

"Yes, not very chivalrous, Lucie, would you take the girls to get some warm dry clothes, and some for yourself while you're at it", said Ginny, remembering Harry and the present.

"What about Danny?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine for a minute", she said pointedly. Lucretia took the hint; she had inherited her mother's intuition; "all right, come on girls, let's go plot some revenge!"

"I'll leave you two to it", said Ginny, and followed the girls out. As soon as she left Danny fixed his icy blue eyes on Harry's face, but not with the usual disdain, something about him seemed off, as if he'd just had some really bad news; "uhm …" he said, breaking the silence.

"Sorry, Danny, I was miles away, why don't you sit down?"

"Yeah, all right", said Danny, taking a seat opposite him.

"How was your Christmas?"

"Good, yeah"

"Your mum said you were glad to spend it with Lucie"

"Yeah, I was yeah … she uhm, yeah … you spoke to my mum?"

"Yeah, when I arrived, I was wondering where you were"

"Why?"

"I got you something"

"Oh"

"Would you like it?"

"Uhm, yeah sure … I didn't get you anything though"

"It's OK, why would you"

Danny didn't answer, he just waited as Harry pulled a rectangular parcel and an envelope from beneath his robes and passed them to Danny. He took them muttering thanks and opened up the envelope first, taking out the card and reading it;

_Dear Danny,_

_Merry Christmas_

_Hope you like your gift, no pressure, but I'm here if you want me._

_Harry_

Danny took in the words carefully before putting it aside and unwrapping the present; it was a book, he had suspected as much, he turned it over to read the title; 'A Guide to the World's Greatest Ever Chaser's: 6th Edition'. He smiled slightly and opened up the front cover, a note was scrawled across the top; _Perhaps you'll be in edition 7!_ Danny was suddenly reminded of a similar note his dad had written in the fifth edition that he had got for his last birthday; a rush of guilt surged through him. "You're not my dad!" he blurted out before he could stop himself. "I know I'm not", said Harry, although his voice was slightly pained, "I just wanted to let you know I'm here, for whatever you know, someone to talk to … help you quidditch train … I'm not trying to be your dad, it's too late for that … just think of me how you think of Draco or Dean …"

"Yeah … I know, I just feel a bit guilty"

"About what?"

"About talking to you, I don't want to upset my dad"

"I know you don't, and you won't, so long as your happy, that's all he wants"

"Yeah …"

"And it's all I want too"

"Right … yeah, OK … uhm, thanks you know … for the present, I don't have this edition"

"You're welcome, glad you like it"

They were silent for a moment, both of them at a loss for what to say next. It didn't matter, in the next second the others could be heard from the dining room counting down to midnight. "We should probably go back in", said Harry, standing up. Danny agreed, following suit and walking ahead to the door. He hesitated before leaving and turned back to Harry; "Happy New Year Prof - uhm, Harry", he said, averting his eyes slightly. "Happy New Year Danny."


	18. Confession Time

**A/N:** Sorry, sorry, sorry! One thousand times sorry! I return to the world of fanfic with my tail firmly between my legs. I haven't updated in sooo long. Thing is (here come the excuses) I had this chapter sort of half written for a while until I finally got my act together and decided, yet again, which direction I wanted this story to go in (I swear I just keep making up more random events as an excuse to prolong it). But again, I have decided, for now, where it's going, for now. This was originally going to be all Amelia/Jonas in this chapter, but then I thought why not throw in a smudge of Danny/Lucretia and a nice helping of Danny/Harry. Anyway. Enough of my, what could turn out to be endless, rambling. Hope you enjoy the new chapter, can't tell you when the next one will be up but I'll try not to leave you hanging too long as this one's a bit of a cliffy. Anyhoo, I really am going now dear readers (if you're still there), enjoy this, and again. SORRY! :)

**18. Confession Time**

Amelia leant her head back against the head of the armchair and tried to block out the sound of everyone around her. They were all in incredibly high spirits having just enjoyed the sumptuous feast that had welcomed them back to Hogwarts for another term. She hadn't been able to eat a bite, she had been too nervous and it made her feel even more nauseous than usual. She had been trying to find a way of getting Jonas on his own without looking suspicious since she had boarded the train, unfortunately, no such opportunity had presented itself. Sighing she raised her head back up and opened her eyes in time to see Jonas leaving the common room. She stood up immediately and made to follow him, slipping away from the rest of the group. By the time she had caught up with him he was in the entrance hall, her footsteps faltered a little on the stairs as he was suddenly joined by someone else. Lucretia had just left the library and was heading towards the stairs when she noticed Jonas; her eyes widened slightly but she made no other gesture of recognition. However, as she walked past Jonas grabbed her arm gently; "what do you think you are doing?" she demanded, pulling out of his grip.

"Sorry", he said, "I've just been meaning to talk to you for a while now"

"About what?" she asked, tossing her hair over one shoulder.

"I just wanted to apologise to you for everything I did, I was an idiot, and I'm sorry"

"Yes you were an idiot … but thanks, it must have been hard to apologise"

"It's about time I started acting like a man"

"Well you've made a good start", said Lucretia finally smiling and reaching out to give him a pat on the arm.

"Oi!" a voice sounded from across the hallway. Three heads snapped towards the sound to see Danny striding towards Lucretia and Jonas looking furious, Amelia tried to shrink further into the shadows. "Get your hands off her!" Danny shouted pushing Jonas away from Lucretia roughly and punching him before Lucretia could say any more that "Danny wait -"

In a split second Jonas was on the floor dabbing gingerly at his split lip. "Danny for God's sake!" Lucretia burst out, furiously knocking him aside to help Jonas stand; "he was just apologising!"

"It's alright", said Jonas, "he didn't know"

"I don't care!" Lucretia raged, "you can't just go round attacking people!"

"I'm sorry Lucie!"

"It's not me you should be saying sorry to!" she screamed before taking off up the stairs.

"Sorry!" Danny said hastily to Jonas before running off after Lucretia.

Jonas merely stood dabbing at his lip for a few more moments before heading out of the castle. Amelia watched him, trying to decide what to do. She checked her watch; there was still a good hour before curfew so she decided to follow him, hurrying out into the dusky grounds. She found Jonas almost immediately, sat on the edge of the lake simply staring out across the water. He turned his head as she approached and she froze a few feet away from him, her hands unconsciously drifting towards her still flat stomach. "Hi", she said nervously after a few seconds. "Hi", he replied, a slightly nervous smile playing about his lips. "Do you mind if I sit down?" she asked, seating herself next to him after he shook his head. "How come you're out here?" she asked.

"I like to come here and think", he replied.

"You like Lucie don't you?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I see things"

"Hmph"

"You're also not bothering to deny it", she said smirking slightly.

"OK, if it makes you feel better, I did like Lucie"

"Did?"

"Yeah, did, then I fell for someone else, but she doesn't want me"

"Who?"

"I thought you were psychic?"

"No need to be sarcastic"

"Sorry"

"It's OK, aren't you going to tell me who she is?"

"She's you, that help?"

"Me?" Amelia gasped, finally turning to look at him to see him staring back at her.

"Yeah you, ever since that night, I can't stop thinking about you! And what happened, and I felt so bad because you'd gone I just thought I'd done something wrong!"

"I'm sorry, it wasn't your fault, it was me, I was ashamed of myself"

"Why? What we did wasn't wrong Milly …"

"I know that, I just …"

"Just what?" he whispered moving closer to her. Her eyes went blank and his question went unanswered as he touched his lips gently to hers. "Stop!" she said sharply, pulling away after a few seconds, "I didn't come out here for this!"

"Neither did I …"

"I came because I had to tell you something"

Jonas looked at her, his lips still slightly parted, she stared back at him, his expression getting more puzzled by the second. "What is it Amelia?" he asked quietly.

"That night", she began, before pausing, already she was struggling for words and yet she was no where near the important part, Jonas stayed silent watching her. "That night", she began again, "the night we … you know", she said with a blush. Jonas nodded but still didn't speak. "Well … I … I'm … I didn't come away from it with just a hangover"

"What do you mean?" he asked, now even more confused.

"I mean I'm pregnant".

Jonas' eyes grew to the size of saucers as Amelia's eyes filled with tears and slid away from his gaze, he opened his mouth to speak but no words would come. What could he say? What should he say? His mind and his heart were pounding, screaming at him to do something. But what? Amelia had begun to cry, her sobs were getting louder and he couldn't take it, he felt as though something was cutting off his air supply. He could barely breath and he couldn't stand her crying; something finally snapped and he pulled her towards him, clinging to her as tightly as he could, and she clung back. He realised then what he needed to do. He realised then that it was just them.

"You didn't have to do that Danny!" Lucretia said, rounding on him just outside the portrait hole as he had finally caught up with her. "I'm sorry Lucie, I know I shouldn't have lost my temper but I saw him touching you and I just saw red, baby I'm sorry!"

"Is that what's going to happen every time some other guy touches me?"

"No of course not! It was just him, Jonas! After everything he's put you through I thought you would understand!"

"Well he was just apologizing! And I've been through worse - I thought you would understand that!" she shouted before snapping the password at the Fat Lady and storming into the common room. Danny wanted to scream and rage and shout. He may have been in the wrong punching Jonas but Lucretia had seriously overreacted and he wasn't in the mood to sort it out while she was acting like a brat. Nor was he in the mood to sit in the common room and watch her sulk. He turned on his heel and walked aimlessly through the corridors not paying any attention to where he was going and not even bothering to watch out for patrolling teachers. "Danny?" a voice sounded behind him. He sighed, and then turned to face whoever it was.

"Professor", he said stiffly, when he realised it was Potter who had called him.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Peachy", said Danny, his manners threatening to slip.

"Sounds like it … do you want to talk?"

"No", said Danny edgily, "maybe … I don't know"

"How about a drink?"

Danny hesitated.

"No pressure you know that … and I do have something I'd like to tell you …"

"Alright", said Danny nodding, before following Harry back into his office.

Jonas finally felt Amelia still against him but she didn't loosen the grip she had on him, it was as though she couldn't bring herself to let go. He kissed the top of her head; "I'm not going anywhere", he whispered. That got her attention. She looked up into his eyes; "you're sure?" she breathed. He nodded and managed a faint smile; "yeah I'm sure, we're in this together alright?" She nodded again, a few more tears spilling from her eyes. Now she had her reassurance she pulled away far enough for her to wipe the tears away. "What now?" asked Jonas, Amelia grimaced, she was not looking forward to the next part of the plan. "I have to tell my parents", she said, pulling a piece of parchment and a quill from her robes. "Are you sure a letter's the best way?" asked Jonas, thinking suddenly of his own parents, they would murder him, especially his mother. "I'm writing to Romilda … she's a family friend … uhm, Danny's mum, she knows about the erm … baby, and I uhm, well she's been through something similar and I want her there when I tell them". Jonas nodded again and squeezed her left hand as she began to write the letter:

_Dear Romilda,_

_I've done what I said I would, things seem to be looking up. I know what I promised you and it's time, I need to tell my parents. Can I ask you to be there when I do? More than that, can I ask you to get them to the three broomsticks tomorrow lunch time. I need to do this as soon as possible before I talk myself out of it._

_Thank you so much for all the help you've given me,_

_Amelia._

"Here", said Harry, handing Danny a butterbeer.

"Cheers", said Danny taking a long draught, Harry frowned, something must be up.

"So did you want to talk or do you want me to go first?" he asked.

"You go", Danny said with a shrug.

"Okay, well, I wanted you to be the first to know this because, aside from Cho and I this affects you the most"

"OK"

"Cho is pregnant"

"Oh! Uhm, well, congratulations!"

"Thank you, it's early days yet … I'm not sure if Ginny would have told you but Cho has suffered miscarriages in the past"

Danny's eyes widened, he didn't know what to say; "Uhm no she didn't … I'm sorry …"

"Don't be. Not your fault. Anyway, it'll be different this time, the healers say everything's looking perfect"

"I'm pleased for you … and for Cho"

"Thank you. Anyway … what was it that's bothering you?"

Danny sighed not sure whether he wanted to talk or not and then decided he may as well, what did he have to lose; "Lucie and I had a fight"

"Aah, bad I take it?"

"Worse, we never fight, not really …"

"What was it about?"

"Jonas"

"I thought he was old news"

"He is, I saw him with Lucie and I got the wrong end of the stick, I thought he was bothering her again so I punched him"

"Oh"

"Yeah, turns out he was actually apologising and she went off on one"

"Hmm, sounds like her mother"

"Yeah well, she completely overreacted, I mean, so did I but … well … you know …"

"You're intentions were honourable?"

"Yeah, that"

"Sounds to me like she just needs to cool off, if she's still sulking tomorrow, which she will be if she's anything like her parents, just conjure her up some flowers or get her some chocolate cauldrons, she'll soon forgive you Danny, she loves you"

"I know she does, and I love her"

"Then you'll be fine, anyway, it's almost curfew, you should head back to the tower"

"Yeah you're right, thanks erm, Harry"

"You're welcome, I'm here anytime."

Jonas and Amelia walked back to the common room from the owlery having gone there to post Amelia's letter to Romilda, she hoped it would reach her in time, Jonas assured her that it would and gave the hand he was holding a slight squeeze. The Fat Lady swung open for them after he uttered the password and she remarked that it was nice seeing a young couple who weren't at each others throats. "What do you think she's on about?" asked Amelia.

"No idea", Jonas replied, "perhaps she's been drinking with Violet again". Amelia giggled and he smiled, it was nice being able to make her laugh after all the crying she had been doing this evening. "You should go to bed, you look exhausted", he said pulling her into a hug. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat for a minute. "You sure you won't change your mind?" she asked, looking up into his eyes. "No, I won't, I promise you", he said before pressing his lips to hers for the second time that night. And for the second time it was cut short. "How could you?" Jonas and Amelia snapped their heads round to look for the source of the outburst. Roxanne had appeared behind them and appeared to be shaking with rage. "Roxie", began Amelia in a pleading tone. "Don't you Roxie me Amelia! How can you even look at him let alone kiss him? Are you mad, after everything he's done to Lucie, after the hell he's put her through! How dare you betray her like this? How dare you betray our family like this?" she raged before storming up to the girls dorms. Amelia stood stunned, how could she have been so stupid, she was vaguely aware of Jonas' arm around her as he led her somewhere, she couldn't tell where, she was too blinded by tears. "Don't listen to her", Jonas soothed as he sat her down carefully on the edge of his bed, "she was just shocked, once she finds out everything it'll be fine, Lucie forgave me remember? Everything's going to be OK". Amelia just shook her head; "no", she whispered, "no it won't, she's right, they won't accept this, no one will, they'll tear us apart Jonas I know they will. My parents will flip and they'll pull me out of school and they'll keep me away from you I just know it!"

"Ssh, calm down, you're not thinking straight, they won't do that, they can't do that, I won't let them"

"No you don't understand!" Amelia almost screamed, "you don't know my family, they look after their own! Harry Potter is their best friend and they still haven't fully forgiven him for what he did to my Aunt Ginny! You have no idea! As soon as they find out you're the father, that you got me pregnant, that will be IT!"

"OK, OK", he said, pulling her to him again, his mind working on overdrive, "well there's only one thing for it then", he said.

"What?" she asked, her eyes filled with fear.

"Plan B", he replied with finality.

Romilda sat opposite Ron and Hermione tapping her fingers on her wine glass, Amelia was ten minutes late now and the silence around the table was deafening. It was hard to force a conversation with two people who knew you were hiding something. Romilda checked her watch again just as Hannah Longbottom approached the table; "Mrs Finnigan?" she enquired.

"Yes that's me", said Romilda.

"A letter just arrived for you", she said handing it over and then walking back behind the bar. Romilda tore it open at once, recognising Amelia's handwriting;

_Dear Romilda,_

_I'm sorry, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I know what would happen if I did so I can't. I know how much you wanted me to tell them but I can't, I can't take the chance. Me and the father have gone. I'm sorry, but I know we'd be forced apart if I came and I couldn't bear that. We need each other and I can't take the risk. Please, tell my mum and dad what's happened and please tell them I love them, and I love Alfie too, and everyone else. But we need to do this alone. I couldn't stand to see the anger and the disappointment in their eyes. It's better this way. Thanks for everything you did and everything you tried to do. Sorry I couldn't be braver._

_Love Amelia._

"It's from Amelia", Romilda said, her voice toneless, "she's not coming"

"Why?" asked Ron. Romilda didn't answer, she just settled for handing the letter to him. He read it through, looking more confused the more he read. Finally he looked up from it and stared at Romilda as Hermione tugged it out of his hands; "when it says 'me and the father'…?" he said slowly as Hermione too looked up to stare at Romilda who grimaced; "yes, it means what you think it means … Amelia's pregnant."


	19. Confusion and Devastation

**A/N: **It's been a while, but here's another one. Hope you enjoy!

**19. Confusion and Devastation**

Romilda arrived home, shaking, hardly able to believe what was happening. She took several deep breaths before turning the handle and letting herself into the hallway. Leaning back against the door she allowed it to slam, closing her eyes she took some more breaths, trying to compose herself. "Milda?" She opened her eyes to see Seamus walking down the hallway towards her, she tried to smile, but she wouldn't be surprised if it had come out a grimace. "Are you OK?" Seamus asked, "we've got a visitor". Romilda couldn't even bring herself to be curious as she felt tears stab her eyes, she stumbled forwards into her bewildered husbands arms and finally let herself cry.

"How could this happen?" Ron raged as soon as he and Hermione were safely indoors.

"I don't know", Hermione said quietly, closing the door behind them.

"Didn't you tell her about contraceptive charms?"

"Well no … I thought she would talk to me about it you know … if she was going to …"

"To get herself pregnant? Well I guess you thought wrong didn't you Mione!"

"This isn't my fault Ron! Blaming me won't help!"

"I know that! I just want an explanation! Is that too much to ask?"

"What's to explain? Our daughter got pregnant and she was too scared and ashamed to speak to us so she ran away! What does that say about us?"

"Nothing", Ron said, his voice calming, "it doesn't say anything, we've always been fair to them, always …"

"Why couldn't she confide in me? I'm her mother!"

"It's like you said … she was scared, who wouldn't be … remember when we told my parents we were expecting her? I was bricking it, and we were engaged and finished with school"

"But she confided in Romilda!"

"I know but think about it, Romilda went through the same thing with Danny -"

"No! No Ron it is not the same thing! We would never, ever disown our daughter - ever!"

Ginny and Draco were just buttoning up their coats when there was a sharp rap on the door. Ginny sighed; "whoever that is, they've got the worst timing", she said grumpily as Draco went to answer the door. Her frustration abated though when Draco stepped aside to reveal a thoroughly distraught Hermione. "Hermione what's happened?" Ginny exclaimed rushing forward to embrace her best friend, Draco took a few steps back to give them some space. Ginny was unable to make any sense of what Hermione was saying, she heard odd words like 'Ron', 'Romilda', 'Milly' and 'gone'. "Hermione I don't understand, what's happened?" she asked.

"Milly's pregnant!" she burst out, pulling away from Ginny and clutching at her robes, "my baby girl is pregnant and she was so scared of telling me that she ran away with the father!"

Ginny was speechless, she could do nothing but gape, stunned, at what Hermione had just blurted out. Luckily for her, Draco, although stunned himself, was better at dealing with stressful situations than she was. He took the lead, putting an arm around Hermione and leading her into the living room, he sat her gently down on the sofa and poured her a large measure of fire whiskey, forcing it into her shaking hands. Ginny followed in a daze and Draco poured both her and himself a large measure too and handed hers to her before taking a sip of his own. "When did you find out?" he asked gently, sitting next to her.

"This afternoon", Hermione said, her crying now ceased, she sounded deadly calm, her voice toneless and unrecognisable. "How?" he asked despite himself, none of this was making any sense to him. "Romilda".

"Sorry?"

"Romilda knew, she got us to go to Hogsmede to meet Milly with her, we knew something was wrong but we had no idea it would be something like this, we thought it would be something simple, easily fixed", she laughed without humour and took a large swig of her drink, "how could we know how serious it would be? We thought she was overreacting, it wouldn't be the first time … she takes after me like that I think … anyway, she was late, and then this letter arrived for Romilda, Milly wasn't coming, she handed us the letter and confirmed what it said, that Milly's pregnant …"

"And she's gone?" Draco asked, unnerved by the monotone he'd just heard.

"Gone. Gone with the father, whoever he is … am I that bad a mother?"

"No Hermione of course you're not!" said Ginny, finally finding her voice, she stood up and knelt before Hermione, pulling her into a hug as another knock sounded on the door. Draco got up soundlessly to answer it and led the visitor into the living room. "Oh Ron", said Ginny, as her brother entered the room, "I'm so sorry", he shook his head. "Don't be Gin, we'll sort this, I've come for Mione, we need to go up to the school". Hermione snapped her head in his direction. "Do they know?" she demanded.

"I had to tell McGonagall, how else are we supposed to find out who she's left with"

"OK", said Hermione, "we'll go, now", she said standing up to join her husband.

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Ginny.

"No Ginny, you've done enough. Thanks for listening to me", said Hermione.

"Any time"

"I'll see you soon Gin", said Ron, with a nod before he and Hermione disappeared out into the hallway. She heard them apparate away seconds later and turned to look at Draco helplessly. Without a word he enveloped her into a tight, comforting embrace.

"I'm guessing now's not a good time?" came Harry's voice from the kitchen doorway, Seamus looked from him to the still sobbing Romilda in his arms, a look of panic in his eyes. "No", he shook his head, "no I don't think it is … look, come back tomorrow if you can, I want to talk this over too, I just need to find out what this is all about", he finished, looking at his wife again. "No problem", said Harry, "I'll floo first tomorrow I think". Seamus nodded in agreement and Harry made for the door, he paused on the threshold and turned back to the couple; "Seamus, I hope everything's going to be alright", he said before closing the door and disapparating.

"I hope you don't mind, but I've got Lucretia, Roxanne and Victoire in my office, I haven't told them about Amelia yet, but with your consent, I thought it best that they know, as they may be able to shed some light on the situation", said Professor McGonagall, leading Ron and Hermione towards the stone gargoyle. "Yes, you're probably right", said Ron, "have you found out who she's left with yet?"

"Not of yet Ron, I'm sorry, it's taking us a while to round everyone up to their appropriate common room, once we have the heads of houses will be taking a register, we should know then; hopefully though, one of the girls will know and you won't have long to wait". Ron merely nodded and Hermione showed no reaction at all to the news. Once inside the Headmistresses office Ron and Hermione took the seats that she indicated and Ron sent a strained smile to his nieces who were sat nearby, all with looks of utter confusion on their faces. As Ron registered this he wondered if they even knew anything about Amelia, or whether she had kept her secret even from them. "Right", said Professor McGonagall, "we are here, as you may have guessed because of Amelia", she said, addressing the girls more than Ron and Hermione, "we would like to know if any of you girls have any idea where she might be?"

"Is she not in her dorms?" Lucretia asked.

"Or in the library, she's always in the library", Victoire added.

"No", said the Professor, "it seems as though she's left school property"

"What?" Victoire gasped.

"When you say left …?" Lucretia asked fearfully.

"I mean she has left of her own accord because of a personal problem", the Professor glanced towards Ron and Hermione, Ron managed a stiff nod to say she could continue. Before she could however Lucretia had spoken; "is this about her failing?" she asked.

"Failing?" repeated the Professor, noting that as she did Victoire seemed to shift uncomfortably; "Amelia is not failing anything … why would you say she was?" she asked her eyes boring into Victoire as she spoke.

"She told me she was", said Lucretia looking extremely confused.

"She lied to you", said Victoire, "I overheard you and I knew she'd lied, so I … I spoke to her and I managed to get the truth out of her"

"You knew!" said Ron suddenly, snapping his head towards his niece.

"I'm sorry Uncle Ron! I tried to make her tell you but she wouldn't, and then Romilda found out but she managed to fob her off as well, I swear that if she hadn't told you soon then I would have!" Victoire gabbled out. Ron's face softened and he managed a nod and faint smile for her. She looked instantly relieved.

"I'm sorry", Lucretia piped up, "I'm still really confused here, if she's not failing what the hell is going on and what could be so bad that she would feel the need to run away?"

"Milly's pregnant", whispered Victoire. Lucretia's eyes became saucers and Roxanne snapped her head to her cousin, a look of guilt flashing across her face that didn't go unnoticed by the Headmistress, she was about to question her about it when Lucretia spoke again; "who?" she breathed, the Professor saw Roxanne stiffen as she waited for Victoire to answer. "I don't know", she said, "she never told me, all I know is that he's in school". Roxanne looked even more uncomfortable at this; "Roxanne?" said the Professor, "would you happen to know anything about this?"

Roxanne looked up guiltily and sighed, then she nodded; "I saw them together last night … I was shocked, and I, oh God, this is all my fault, I'm the one that told her that everyone would be angry, I'm the one who said she was betraying her family!"

"Why would you say that?" whispered Lucretia.

"Because she was kissing Jonas!" she blurted out, just as a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in", called Professor McGonagall, somewhat weakly. The door opened and the four heads of houses walked in. "Anything?" McGonagall asked. Three of them shook their heads but Professor Longbottom stepped forward; "aside from Amelia we have one missing", he said.

"Who?" asked the Headmistress, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Jonas Dysai."

Draco and Ginny lay in bed, her head on his chest and his arms encircling her. Neither could sleep, but neither could speak, they were both still in shock, both of their minds working on overdrive, thinking things they couldn't bear to voice. Eventually though, Draco could take no more, he had to break the silence, it was killing him; "Gin?" he whispered softly.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"I was thinking …"

"What about?"

"Milly, what else?"

"I know I can't stop thinking about it either", she said propping herself up on her elbow so she could look at her husband.

"And I was thinking … what if Lucie -"

"Don't Draco"

"What?"

"You can't talk to her about that"

"But -"

"No Draco, I know what you're like, you'll go in all wands blazing and upset her"

"I wasn't suggesting that", he said, slightly grumpily.

"Then what?" asked Ginny.

"Look, I don't want to know if she is or if she isn't sleeping with Danny; obviously I'd rather she weren't but I'm not an idiot, I know what hormones are like … I just want to know that if she is, or isn't, that she knows how to protect herself, I don't want her to end up in the same situation as Milly"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, why, don't you think it's a good idea?"

"Draco, it's probably the best idea you've had concerning her since she's starting dating Danny, and I know how hard it must have been for you to suggest it"

"I'm her father, I know I want her to be my little princess for ever but let's face it, she's growing up and she's in a relationship, it's like you said, it's going to happen, I just don't want to have to worry about it"

"I'll talk to her Draco, but you know she's not as naïve as Milly, she knows the consequences"

"I know she's sensible Gin; but I want to make sure, when she has children I want them to be on her terms, not forced upon her like poor Milly"

"I know; Ron is tearing his hair out; he's started looking for her already of course, he thought with his contacts and his job it would be easy, but it's like they have disappeared without a trace; they're both underage and he was sure they'd use magic but they haven't so there's no way to trace them. The only thing they know for sure is that they can't have left the country as neither of them owns a muggle passport"

"That's one thing I suppose; do either of them have money?"

"According to his parents Jonas has his own account but no money's been withdrawn yet, they're keeping an eye on it"

"God, poor Ron and Hermione, I hope they get her home soon"

"Me too, but at least she's not alone".

**A/N: **Just another quick note. Just to say I've got a few more chapters of this written up already but I still don't know how far I want to take it. I could carry on forever but I think everyone would get bored. What I will say is that the time will jump forward quite considerably from now on because I want to speed through the pregnancy. Also, the new fic I mentioned has several chapters written but I'm not ready to post any yet - I haven't got it quite right I don't think and I've sort of hit a wall with it. I've been reading quite a few D/G fics over the last few weeks to see if I can get any inspiration and I've realised what I really need to do is write something a bit light hearted with a bit of humour. I read a good fic earlier where Luna was hilarious. So anyway, a funny (hopefully) fic may emerge at some point, as will the other one I mentioned several updates ago. Well, my quick note has turned into a long, rambling one (as per). I will post another chapter of this sometime next week and try working on something new as well. Wish me luck! :)


	20. Desperation

**A/N: **I know it's been a while; I must beg forgiveness once again. In my defense I'm coming to the end of my final year at uni and I have thousands and thousands of words to write that are completely unrelated to Harry Potter. And when I'm not doing uni work, more often than not I'm working. So anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, I will try and update soon :)

**20. Desperation **

"Are you sure this is going to be okay?" Amelia asked fearfully as soon as Jonas closed the door of the tiny apartment. "I'm sure", he said, "no one will think to look for us here, it's too close to Hogwarts, and the witch who's renting it to us had no idea we were students".

"I know, I'm just scared someone will recognise us"

"It won't happen, trust me. We know when Hogsmede visits are and we can avoid them". Finally Amelia relaxed and allowed herself to smile as she looked around the place. The apartment Jonas had found them was tiny but clean, it had everything they needed; there was an open plan living room and dining room with a small but adequate kitchen attached, along with one double bedroom with an en suite. Amelia had been worried about when the baby came but Jonas had assured her that it would be fine for a good six months at least and after that he was sure that they would be able to find somewhere else. Besides, he had told her, his trace broke in November and hers in December, in less than a years time they would be able to do magic again, until then, they would just have to manage. His last act of magic had been to disguise the pair of them before they fled Hogwarts, he wasn't able to do much, but it had been enough so far. He looked at her now, her once straight bright red hair was now a mass of dark brown curls, and the few freckles she had were gone. His own ice blonde hair was also dark and he had allowed his once smooth face to grow a layer of stubble to match. Amelia had wandered into the bedroom and was carefully unpacking their belongings, they had taken as much as they could fit into one trunk. They had taken their muggle clothing and their cloaks, their school robes discarded; Amelia had carefully chosen a select few of her books and Jonas had brought his broom, just in case. Amelia was carefully folding their clothes into the chest of drawers opposite the bed; Jonas knew how much she wanted this small space to be a real home, he crossed to their trunk and pulled out the books and three photo frames before walking back into the living room. Amelia followed him and watched as he placed the books on the empty bookshelf and placed the photo frames on the mantle piece before standing back to look at them. She crossed to his side and looked with him, her eyes filling with tears; his picture stood in the middle, it was of him, his parents either side of him smiling and waving happily; hers were either side, the first showed her with her parents and Alfie; the second showed her laughing and joking with Lucretia, Roxanne and Victoire, they all looked so carefree and her heart ached for that time when everything was simple. Now it was complicated and it hurt, a silent tear fell down her cheek and she felt Jonas' arm around her; "when the time is right we can go back", he whispered. She nodded, she knew they had to be patient. She had to wait for her seventeenth birthday, it was eleven months away, then they would both be of age. They had agreed, as soon as she was seventeen they would marry, then they could see their families again because then they couldn't be torn apart.

"Where do you think they are?" asked Lucretia, staring up at the sky. It was the beginning of April and the spring sunshine was finally burning away the clouds that had been an ever present above Hogwarts since what felt like forever. It had been almost three months since Amelia and Jonas had disappeared, Amelia would be five months pregnant and they were still no nearer to finding her. Her Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were frantic, Hermione had even left her job, preferring to focus all her energy on the search for her daughter. There were posters all round Diagon Alley and in Hogsmede and yet there hadn't been so much as a sighting. "I don't know", said Roxanne in answer to her question, "I wish I did". Lucretia smiled sympathetically, Roxanne was taking this the worst out of the girls, she blamed herself. "When we find her you can apologise, you know Milly, she's not one to hold a grudge" said Victoire. This made the corners of Roxanne's mouth twitch, she nodded, "yeah I know", she said, "hey look, the guys are coming out - over here!" she shouted waving Teddy, James and Danny over. The boys smiled and crossed to the girls, all dropping down next to their respective girlfriends and kissing them in greeting. "Guess what?" said Danny with a grin. "What?" asked the three girls in unison. "The Hogsmede weekend has been brought forward a week, so it's tomorrow, which is …"

"Your birthday!" Lucretia exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Yep, so I thought we could all go, make a day of it and then come back and party in the tower, after all, it's not everyday a guy turns seventeen". The others all grinned at him, a party was just what they needed to take their mind off Amelia's disappearance.

"I'm back!" called Jonas into the apartment as he returned from collecting their weekly shop.

"In here!" Amelia called back from the bedroom, he grinned and walked in to see her, she was knelt on the floor painting the cot that Jonas had procured the day before. He had found it in an old junk shop, it was covered in dust but it had scrubbed up well, Amelia found an old tub of white paint under the sink and decided that it would be perfect. "Wow", said Jonas, "that looks great". Amelia smiled at him and stroked the brush one last time over the cot. Done. "Thanks", she said, "did you get me sugar quills?" she enquired, they were her latest craving. "Super sized", he assured her. "Good", she replied with a smile, "now help me up I think my legs have gone to sleep". Jonas obliged helping her gently off the floor, as he did so she let out a gasp and her hands flew to her rounded stomach. "What is it?" he demanded immediately, "are you OK? Is it the baby?" She rubbed her belly for a moment and then smiled at him; "we're fine", she said, "baby just kicked me that's all, here, feel it", she guided his hand to a spot on her stomach and after a moment he felt it, his baby kicked and he felt it. His eyes widened in wonder as he looked into Amelia's amused face; "that's amazing", he breathed, not taking his eyes away from hers, which were lit up with excitement.

Danny was in high spirits, he was finally seventeen and would be able to take his apparation test over the Easter holidays, he couldn't wait until he could spontaneously whisk Lucretia away anywhere he pleased. He was walking hand in hand with her now, as they walked towards the entrance hall with all their other friends, they were all chatting happily and planning what they would do. It was a beautiful spring day so they wouldn't be limited by the weather. Just as they reached the entrance hall Danny spotted Harry who beckoned him over. "I won't be a minute", he said to Lucretia, who watched him approach Harry curiously. "They're getting on better", commented Victoire, she was one of the few who knew the truth. "I know", said Lucretia, "I'm glad", she said smiling as Harry and Danny shook hands. "Happy birthday Danny", said Harry smiling. "Thanks", Danny replied, a smile on his own face. "I got you something", said Harry, holding out a package. "You didn't have to", said Danny, reaching out to take it. "I wanted to, anyway, it's just a hand me down really, nothing too exciting". He watched as Danny opened it curiously and pulled out the smooth, almost weightless materiel. His eyes widened; "is this?"

"Yep", said Harry grinning.

"Wow"

"You like it?"

"Yeah, it's amazing"

"It's hundreds of years old, been passed down father to son", he faltered a little as Danny stiffened, "I know I'm not your dad … but well, you know, you are technically my son and -"

"It's OK", Danny interrupted him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's just … what about the baby?"

"Cho and I found out we're expecting a girl"

"Oh, so …"

"She's fine with me giving you this"

"What if you know … you have another?"

"We won't, we know it's unlikely to happen and we're not going to push our luck"

"Right …"

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe I'm getting another sister", he said with a grin. Harry smiled back, a weight lifted off his heart; "well, not much we can do about that, enjoy your day Danny"

"Thanks, and thanks for the present, I really appreciate it"

"Your welcome", said Harry with a final smile as Danny went over to rejoin his friends, his present tucked safely into his robes.

"I haven't had a decent nights sleep in months Molly", said Hermione, clutching the steaming mug of tea her mother in law had just set down in front of her. As she did so she noted the rings sat on her left hand. "I take it out on Ron you know", she said as Molly sat down opposite her, "I know it's not his fault and I know that he's trying his best but I just can't help myself. I lash out at him all the time; mostly he ignores me but sometimes he argues back and I just can't handle it. I don't know what I'm doing, I'm single-handedly destroying my marriage but I just can't stop myself", she finished, looking into Molly's eyes.

"I don't know what you want me to say Hermione? That it's all going to be alright? I will if you want me to but I know you won't believe me … the clock says she's fine you know", said Molly, glancing behind her. As well as her original clock, Arthur had bought her another which had the names of all their grandchildren on it. Hermione looked up at the clock too and couldn't help the bubble of anger that welled up inside her. "No", she said quietly, "the clock says she's home! But she's not home is she? If she was I wouldn't be feeling like this! I don't even know when the baby's due! Vicky says she thinks she got pregnant at Halloween but how do I know that's true? She was home all Christmas and I didn't notice a thing!"

"This isn't your fault Hermione", said Molly gently, "you're a fantastic mother but Amelia is a scared young girl, at least you can be grateful she's safe and that she has someone looking after her. And as for not noticing, well, with everything going on at Christmas with Lucie and the whole family being in one space … it's no surprise you overlooked it"

"But that's just it, I'm her mother! I shouldn't have overlooked it, I should have known straight away and I should have dealt with it, then she wouldn't be God knows where probably terrified at the prospect of having a baby! I should have known, how is it that I didn't but Romilda did?"

"Because Romilda's been there and done that, she's the only one who has any idea what Milly is feeling, and that's not your fault, that's just coincidence, you should be grateful that Romilda knew, otherwise Lord knows when you would have found out", Molly said shaking her head.

"It doesn't stop me thinking it though, it doesn't stop me thinking that I did something wrong, and I know Romilda was just helping but I can barely look at her"

"You should talk to her, I know she's upset about this, I ran into Seamus the other day and he told me, what with all this and everything with Harry, the poor woman is distraught, she thinks you hate her, perhaps it's time you buried the hatchet?"

"I know I should … I know you're right Molly … I just don't know where to start"

"You'll work it out Hermione, you always do, and while you're at it, I know it's hard, but just try and give Ron a break, he's hurting too and you know it would be easier if you supported each other rather than being at each other's throats"

"I know that, I shouldn't be so hard on him, I just want her found"

"And she will be, but until then, try and relax, this kind of atmosphere won't be good for Alfie, he'll be home for Easter in a few weeks and he's probably upset as it is"

"You're right Molly, thanks for the tea, I should get back, we're going for another look around Diagon Alley tonight"

"Alright dear, good luck."

Ron slammed his fist into the table; "there has to be something we've missed!"

"Ron, mate, we've been through everything, we all have, and there's nothing, no clues, it's like they've vanished into thin air", said Dean calmingly.

"It's not good enough! We're supposed to be the best and we've got nothing!"

"The best we can do is go on looking, trouble is … we've got no leads"

"Then we need to find some!"

"Well whatever you want, but where would you like to start?"

"Hogwarts! That's where she was last seen!"

"We've spoken to everyone that's relevant"

"Fine, Hogsmede then, someone must've seen them somewhere, they haven't used any magic!"

"Fine Hogsmede it is, shall we?"

"Yeah let's go", said Ron heading out the door after Dean so the pair could apparate away. After arriving in Hogsmede Dean and Ron quickly found themselves out of ideas as no one they had spoken to so far had been able to help them in the slightest, Dean was about to suggest they went home when he saw one place they hadn't tried; "hey Ron, what about here?" Ron looked at the sign he was pointing at; _Morgana Wolf: Letting Agent_. "Letting agent?" Ron repeated.

"It's worth a shot isn't it?" said Dean pointedly.

"Yeah let's go", agreed Ron, stamping down the path and rapping on the door. A middle aged witch answered after a few moments and invited them inside; "sit, sit", she said kindly, "how may I help you gentlemen?"

"We're Auror's Miss Wolf, we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about some missing Hogwarts students"

"Yes of course, and you must call me Morgana dear"

"Morgana, you wouldn't happen to have seen this boy would you?" asked Dean, showing her a photograph of Jonas.

"No dear, I'm afraid I haven't, I'm sure I would have remembered hair as pale as that"

"Right, and what about this girl?" he said, handing her a photo of Amelia.

"Well she is pretty, I'm afraid I can't be certain dear, quite a number of the girls have hair like this; all Weasley's you know … is this girl a Weasley?"

"Yes she is", said Ron, "she's my daughter"

"Oh I am sorry to hear that she's missing dear"

"Morgana, she, this girl would be around five months pregnant now, perhaps that might help you remember if you've seen her"

"No I don't think so, there is a young pregnant witch renting a small apartment from me with her, well I think he said he was her fiancé, a charming young man, but no, I highly doubt she's your daughter, she has dark curly hair, and the man was dark as well so it couldn't be this blonde boy … I'm sorry, I'm rambling, I wish I could help in some way"

"Just keeping an eye out would be great, let us know if you see anything", said Dean, standing up to leave.

"I will dears", said Morgana, ushering them out of the door.

"Thank you Morgana", said Dean before he and Ron headed back up the footpath.

"Well?" asked Dean once they reached the top.

"Complete waste of time", replied Ron.

"Anything?" asked Hermione as soon as Ron walked through the door.

"Nothing", he replied, "you?"

"Nothing", she said shaking her head sadly. Ron hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not to embrace her. Before he could make up his mind she spoke again; "Alfie wants to stay at Hogwarts over Easter", she said.

"Oh … what did you say?"

"I said I'd talk to you about it"

"Did he say why?"

"He didn't need to. God Ron! First Amelia! And now Alfie doesn't want to come home!"

"Of course he does, it's just, well … Hogwarts is probably a better distraction right now, and besides, we're barely here any more"

"I know, I know it makes sense for him to stay there, and Ginny said that her and Draco are willing to let the twins stay too so he won't be on his own"

"That's good of them"

"I know, everyone's being so good and I'm being rotten! I'm sorry Ron, I'm sorry for everything I've said and for taking it out on you, it's not your fault!" she said, finally bursting into tears.

"I know", said Ron, taking her into his arms and rubbing her back soothingly, "I know you don't mean it and I know how hard it is, but Mione, you know … I will bring her home …"

"I know you will Ron."


	21. What About Confidentiality?

**A/N: **Apologies! It's been too long! But I have now finished my degree - yipee! So should get this finished sooner rather than later; enjoy this chapter! :)

**21. What About Confidentiality?**

Amelia screamed in pain again and Jonas looked over at the healer who was examining her in desperation; "can't you do something?" he asked, stricken.

"She is too far gone for any pain relief charms, you should have called sooner, she's going to have to do this the hard way"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry Milly, I'm so sorry", he said gripping her hand tighter.

"It's OK", she gasped, "I'm OK, I can do this just don't - don't leave me"

"I won't I promise"

"OK Milly, when the next contraction comes I want you to push as hard as you can OK?"

She nodded, not sure she was strong enough for anything else as pain ripped through her body again, she pushed with all her strength and released a scream that echoed round the tiny room.

"Hey Vicky, what are you doing out here?" asked Lucretia. She had found Victoire right at the bottom of the Burrow garden, staring out across the hills. It was a Sunday, so naturally the house was rammed, Lucretia had stepped out for some summer air when Mrs Weasley had started yelling at the twins and Alfie for leaving pretend rats in her kitchen. Lucretia had escaped just as she turned on George who had inadvertently let out a snort of laughter. "What? Oh, hi Lucie, I'm just thinking you know …", replied Victoire.

"About anything in particular?"

"About everything really, but Teddy in particular"

"Where is he today?"

"He's getting ready for his trip"

"What trip?"

"You know, the round the world trip that wizards traditionally go on when they graduate?"

"Oh yeah, where's he going?"

"Everywhere, starting in America and then working his way round to Egypt"

"Wow"

"I'm going to miss him"

"Of course you are … but … won't you see him in the holidays?"

"If I can save enough money I can go out and meet him wherever he is, and dad says that when he gets to Egypt we can all go, he wants to look round the tombs again"

"It'll be alright you know Vicky, you love each other, it'll be fine"

"Thanks Lucie, I needed to hear that from someone"

"No problem, you'll need to be saying the same to me next year no doubt"

"I will don't worry, what are you out here for anyway?"

"Gran was shouting at the twins again so I made a quick getaway"

"Hmm, no change there then"

"No"

"I can't stop thinking about Milly", Victoire said suddenly.

"Me neither", replied Lucretia sadly.

"She'll be having the baby any time now, she may have already had it …"

"Why won't she come home?"

"I don't know, maybe she thinks she's left it too late"

"It's never too late"

"I know that, and you know that, but she doesn't"

Amelia clutched the tiny baby to her chest as the healer handed him over to her. "Congratulations", he said, "you have a healthy baby boy". Amelia beamed, her eyes shining with tears, she bent her head to kiss her new son gently on the forehead. She felt Jonas' arm around her as his other hand leant across to softly stroke the baby's cheek; "I can't believe it", he whispered. Amelia looked up at him, seeing his eyes swimming with tears too; "I know", she agreed, "but we did it". He smiled at her and she smiled back before turning her attention back to the baby. "Excuse me", interrupted the healer, "could I have a word with you please?" he said, addressing Jonas. "Erm, yeah of course", said Jonas, removing his arm from around Amelia and kissing the top of her head before following the healer into the other room. "What is it?" he asked as soon as they were safely out of earshot. "I'm not a fool", said the healer, "I know who the pair of you are". Dread filled Jonas but he tried not to let it show; "what are you talking about?" he said, feigning ignorance. "I think you do Mr Dysai", said the healer, emphasising the last two words. "OK fine", said Jonas, "cards on the table? We are who you think we are, but we're not going back and you can't make us and, you can't tell anyone where we are if we ask you not to -"

"Mr Dysai -", the healer cut in, but he was interrupted immediately.

"No you can't tell! I know you can't, I know all about your oath and your confidentiality"

"You are right about that, but I must urge you, the pair of you, to go home"

"No"

"Very well, you're right that I can't make you go … and you're right that I can't tell anyone where you are … but I can do this …", he said waving his wand. For a moment Jonas was confused but then he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall and almost screamed in rage. He was back to normal, no longer dark but fair and fresh faced. "Milly", he whispered, turning back to the bedroom to see her staring at him, red haired and terrified; "what's happened?" she cried in anguish. "You!" he cried, turning back to the healer, "put the charms back I'm begging you!"

"No, I'm sorry, I can't do that"

"Please! You don't understand!"

"Your families miss you, I may not be able to tell them where you are but I can make it easier for them to find you"

"How can you do this! If we want to remain hidden then that's up to us! You should respect that! What happened to confidentiality?"

"I'm not telling anyone where you are, therefore I am not breaking any rules"

"Get out!"

"As you wish", said the healer with a nod before sweeping from the room.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Amelia from behind him.

"Goodbye Teddy", said Lucretia giving him a hug, "have tonnes of fun, and don't forget to write to Vicky loads", she added in a whisper as she pulled away. He nodded and smiled at her; "look after yourself Luce, don't go getting into any more trouble". Lucretia grinned and wandered back over to Danny who had already said his goodbyes. Only Victoire was left now and the collection of family and friends looked on as she embraced him tightly, tears spilling from both their eyes; "I'll be back before you know it Vic, just concentrate on school, I'll write to you all the time, I love you babe", said Teddy, burying his face in her hair. "I love you too", she whispered back, "so much, stay safe and I'll miss you"

"I'll miss you too", he said, stepping back to brush the tears from her eyes.

"You better go", she said as the station master blew his whistle. Teddy stepped up onto the train and slammed the carriage door shut before leaning out of the window to kiss her one last time; "I love you", he said as the train began to move, she jogged to keep up with it until the platform ran out; "I love you too", she choked out as the train picked up speed and rounded the corner out of sight. The next thing she felt were her father's arms around her. "Come on sweetie, let's get you back home, I think you could use a drink", said Bill soothingly. She nodded against him and he put his arm around her and led her back to where the family stood, Fleur darting forward immediately to console her daughter. Just as Bill was about to suggest they go back to his for a drink two serious looking Auror's arrived behind them. "Mr Weasley?" one of them said. "Yes?", came the reply from four men. "Err, Ron Weasley", the man specified. "Yes?" Ron repeated, his heart speeding up. "We think we may have found your daughter".

"Milly?" Jonas whispered as he came into the flat.

"Here", she replied quietly, coming out of the bedroom where her week old son was sleeping.

"Is he asleep?" Jonas asked.

"Just got him off", she said with a smile, "how did it go?" she asked, looking at the shopping bags he was carrying.

"Not too bad", he replied, "kept my hood up, think I got away with it, no one said anything; anyway, come here, I got you something", he said pulling a small box out of one of the bags. She took it from him curiously and opened it. Inside was a thin silver ring with a single, small diamond set into it, she smiled. "I know it's not much", Jonas was saying, taking the box from her, "but I never really asked you properly did I? So now I can …", he was down on one knee before her as he said the four words she was waiting for; "will you marry me?" he asked, she nodded, unable to find her voice; "yes", she finally managed to whisper. He slid the ring onto her finger and stood up to kiss her. She lost herself in his kiss, forgetting all the months they still had to get through before she could be his wife. When he finally pulled away he looked straight into her eyes; "I love you, you and Josh, I love you both so much", he said.

"I love you too", she replied, "more than I ever thought I could love anyone". Their blissful moment was suddenly brought to an abrupt end as someone banged on the door. Both sets of eyes flew to the door and then back to each other, both saying the same thing without words, 'no one knew they were here'. Amelia broke away from him at once and stumbled into the bedroom scooping up baby Joshua and wrapping his blankets snugly around him, she held him protectively against her chest and returned to the living room where Jonas was still stood frozen, staring at the door. "If you don't answer we're coming in!" came the shout from outside. Amelia looked at him in panic and his eyes snapped to hers; "no matter what", he said, "it's you, me and Josh", he said, she nodded, her eyes wide with fear, "I love you", he said, as the door burst open. All Amelia could see were black cloaked Auror's, she saw no one she recognised, she shrank back in fear and Jonas moved his body to protect her and his son. Suddenly Ron burst through the crowd of Auror's ordering them all back, they obliged, slipping one by one out of the door until only Ron was left; "Milly?" he whispered, catching sight of his daughter behind Jonas' frame. As he looked he saw tears were spilling down her cheeks and she was shaking her head; "no", she began to say, "no, no, no, you can't do this!" she said. Ron looked bewildered; "Milly it's me, it's dad", he said taking a step forward. He saw as he did so that she tried to back away further but she was already against the bedroom door so she settled instead for tightening her grip on the bundle of blankets she had clutched to her chest. Was she frightened of him? Ron wondered as he realised with a jolt that that bundle of blankets contained his Grandchild. "Milly?" he whispered again, not sure what to say, he stepped back a bit and she relaxed her stance slightly but the grip on her child remained strong. He saw her look at Jonas with wide eyes and watched as he enveloped her in a hug. Tears started to spill from Ron's eyes as he watched the scene, but he was soon aware of another presence in the room, he looked up to see Hermione, her eyes wide and bright, unable to believe that they had found her daughter after all this time. Ron opened his mouth to warn her, but he couldn't choose the words, how could he explain that their daughter was frightened of them. Hermione looked from Ron to Amelia and realised immediately that something was wrong; "Milly?" she said quietly. Amelia pulled away from Jonas slightly to look at her mother, the tears were still falling unchecked down her face. "Milly please", said Hermione. Amelia shook her head again, the tears falling faster; "you can't take him away from me", she whispered. Hermione's eyes widened and she looked at Ron, he was as clueless as she was she realised. "Take who away Milly?" said Hermione, not making any move towards her daughter. "Either of them", she whispered back, "you can't take either of them away, I love them", she said. It was then Hermione realised, as Ron had minutes before, that the bundle of blankets Amelia had so tightly clutched to her contained a baby. "Is that why you left?" Hermione asked aghast, "you thought we would take your baby and … and stop you being with Jonas?" Amelia nodded, tears still coming thick and fast. Hermione shook her head; "no Milly, you're wrong, we don't want that, I wish you'd just told us! We would have been shocked of course we would but we would have helped you, we would never have forced you to do anything you didn't want, and we won't now, we're just so glad we've got you back", Hermione finished, still making no move towards her. Amelia stared at her mother for a moment before looking up at Jonas. Ron and Hermione watched in anticipation, awaiting the outcome of the unspoken words that their eyes were exchanging. Finally Jonas gave a tiny nod and Amelia handed the bundle of blankets gently over to him and took a step towards her mother. Hermione closed the gap within seconds, pulling her into a crushing hug and sobbing hysterically.

"Where is she?" demanded Mrs Weasley as soon as Ron opened the door.

"Hello to you too mum", he replied, amused, as his mother rushed straight passed him and into the kitchen where Hermione was making tea; "where is she?" she repeated again, sounding more anxious this time. "She's upstairs with the baby", said Hermione with a slight smile, "God Molly I can hardly believe we've found her after all this time!"

"Me neither dear, how is she? With the baby? With everything?"

"We haven't really had a chance to talk with her properly, everything's been a bit of a blur, she hasn't let the baby out of her sight and it's taken us most of the day to convince Jonas to leave and see his mum and dad"

"She was with him the whole time?"

"As far as we know", said Ron, taking the cup of tea Hermione was offering him.

"I can't believe I'm a great grandmother", Mrs Weasley whispered, sinking into a chair.

"Yes well, I can't believe I'm a grandmother at the age of thirty six", said Hermione, joining her mother in law and husband at the table.

"How is the baby?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"He's fine, he's healthy and well looked after; her and Jonas were obviously coping"

"Do you think they would have come home if you hadn't found them?"

"I don't know mum", said Ron shaking his head sadly; "I just don't know", he repeated before taking a sip of tea.

A while later Hermione left to check on her daughter, climbing the stairs to her room and knocking softly on the door. Amelia opened it almost at once, smiling shyly at her mother. "Can I come in?" Hermione asked quietly. Amelia nodded, opening the door wider; "it's OK", she said, "he's not sleeping", she finished, gesturing towards the Moses basket that had once been hers. Her father had ventured into the attic to fetch it down for her almost as soon as she had arrived home with Jonas and Joshua. Hermione took a moment to stare down at the tiny baby, who's blue eyes were bright and alert as he took in his new surroundings, his arms and legs kicking happily. Amelia watched her mother with a hint of a smile on her face; maybe now everything would be OK, just like she'd always hoped. Finally Hermione tore her eyes away from her grandson and turned to her daughter, she sighed, not knowing where to begin; "why Milly?" she finally said. Amelia had been dreading that question, she sat heavily on the edge of her bed and her mother sat next to her, waiting. "I don't know mum", she finally said; "I guess it was everything; I was sixteen and pregnant, I had Victoire and Romilda pushing me to tell you and dad but I couldn't even get my head around it myself. And then I had to tell Jonas, and he was more wonderful than I could have ever imagined or hoped him to be. I felt so optimistic then and I really was going to tell you and dad … but then … then Roxie said that you would never accept me and Jonas and it broke my heart. I know she was just angry and I know I shouldn't have listened, but I did; I don't know, blame the hormones or whatever … anyway, me and Jonas left, we thought it was for the best; I see now that it wasn't, and I'm so sorry mum, I'm so, so sorry …" Amelia tailed off and stared at her intertwined hands. Hermione watched her, tears shining in her eyes; she couldn't believe it, her baby girl was all grown up, she had gone through so much in the past few months and Hermione had been there for none of it. She shook her head as a tear fell down her cheek, she brushed it away, noticing as she did that a ring sat on Amelia's wedding finger. Her eyes widened; "Milly", she whispered, "you and Jonas, you didn't …", she tailed off, staring in utter shock at the ring. Amelia looked puzzled for a moment before realizing what her mother was staring at. She shook her head; "we're not married if that's what you mean", she said, "but we are engaged"

"Engaged?" Hermione repeated, she looked horrified, "but … why?"

"Why do you think?" Amelia asked, slightly irritated by her mother's reaction.

"But you're only sixteen!"

"And you're worried about me being engaged? I thought he would be a bigger worry!" she said gesturing to her son; "mum I have a baby! I'm engaged to the father of my baby; isn't that normal?" she asked, almost laughing. Hermione let out a nervous chuckle of her own, contemplating her daughter's words; "well … I suppose when you put it like that …", she tailed off again, thinking hard about what she was about to ask next; "Milly … would you, I mean … if we hadn't found you … would you have ever come home?"

"Yes of course!" Amelia exclaimed at once; "yes, we just … we just wanted to be sure that we wouldn't be forced apart so we were waiting until I was seventeen; and then I would have been of age and we could have been married! Then we would have come home, I swear mum!"

"I believe you Milly … but listen, marriage is a big deal … look, this engagement … you weren't just getting married because you had to were you?"

"At first maybe, yes … but Jonas is all I've had for the past six months, he's looked after me and been there for me throughout everything and he's done everything and more for me and Josh; he's the best father I could ever ask for, for my son; and he's the best boyfriend I could ever have asked for, for me. I love him; and when I marry him, it will be because I want to"

"Good", said Hermione with a smile, "that's all I needed to know", she said embracing her daughter and rubbing her back the way she had when she was a baby. Amelia held her mother back tightly; aware now of how much she had missed her; all too soon they had to break apart as Joshua started crying; "he's probably hungry" said Amelia, pulling away from her mother; "do you mind?" she asked, looking almost apologetic. "Not at all", said Hermione, understanding how personal it was to breastfeed a new born; "I'll give you a shout when dinner's ready", she said before exiting the room. As she closed the door she smiled; everything felt exactly the same, even though it was completely different.

"How is she?" asked Ron when Hermione re-entered the kitchen.

"Fine", she said, sounding thoroughly relieved; "we had a good chat and I understand better now, why she did what she did … listen Ron; you should know, her and Jonas are engaged …" Ron sighed and then nodded after a moment; "that makes sense", he said.

"You know", said Hermione, wrapping her arms around him; "we've been married for so long now, and it still shocks me when you take these massive things calmly in your stride"

"Glad to hear our marriage hasn't become too predictable", he said with a chuckle, kissing the top of her head. She looked lovingly up at him and was about to kiss him when they were interrupted by Mrs Weasley; "when exactly can I see my granddaughter and her baby?" she demanded. Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes and laughed; "she'll be down for dinner soon", said Hermione; "I'll just go and call her …"

"I'll do it Mione", said Ron, "you finish laying the table"

Hermione nodded as Ron left the room and headed up the stairs to Amelia's room; he knocked softly when he reached her door; "come in", she called quietly. He did as he was told and smiled at the scene that met his eyes; Amelia was sat in her chair rocking her son who was drifting off to sleep, she smiled as he came in; "he's almost asleep", she said, "is dinner ready?"

"Yeah, you're mum's just finishing setting the table; your Gran's here too"

"Right", said Amelia, biting her lip slightly.

"Can I?" asked Ron, gesturing to baby Joshua. Amelia hesitated for a fraction of a second before standing up and placing him gently in her father's arms. Ron felt an overwhelming sense of love as he held his grandson in his arms and an immense amount of pride for his daughter. After a few minutes just gazing at Joshua he looked up to Amelia; "he's beautiful Milly", he said, "he looks just like his father", Amelia nodded, too choked with emotion to trust herself to say anything; she watched as her father moved round her to place Joshua carefully in his Moses basket. He turned back to look at her and smiled; "how about a hug for your old dad?" he asked; Amelia couldn't stop the tears any longer as she fell into her fathers arms; "I'm so sorry dad", she whispered as he held her tightly. "Ssh, Milly don't be silly, I'm proud of you baby", he said, "now, do you think you're ready for your Gran?" Amelia sighed and pulled away from her father; "as I'll ever be", she said with a grin. Ron grinned back at her and then led the way out of the room and down the stairs. Amelia followed apprehensively, and it was for good reason; as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs her Grandmother launched herself towards her with a strangled cry.


	22. Forgiveness?

**A/N: **SORRY! A billion times sorry for being the worst updater in history. I have many excuses but I won't bore you with them. Anyway many things meant I kind of ran out of steam with this story and others I was working on (that I've not published). BUT I'm back anyway if anyone's still here! This will probably be the last main chapter - I will no doubt be doing an epilogue but please let me know what you think. I'm not promising anything but I have got my mojo back a bit and I'm working on a new story that I think is going somewhere, but I won't start publishing until I have a good number of chapters written so that I can update regularly and keep up with it all. Well that's all from me for now - to the chapter!

**22. Forgiveness? **

Amelia woke up to the sound of her son cooing and the bright August sunshine streaming through her bedroom window, almost immediately she became aware that she was not alone in her bed. She turned sharply to see Jonas sleeping peacefully beside her; she smiled at the sight of him, assuming that he must have returned from his parents house late last night. Joshua began to whimper slightly in his basket so she extracted herself carefully from her sheets and scooped him up; "ssh, it's alright baby, mummy's here", she said soothingly, bouncing him slightly; she decided to take him downstairs to feed him so as not to wake Jonas. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she found her mother was already up, sat at the table with a mug of tea reading the Daily Prophet. "Morning sweetheart", she said as Amelia entered the kitchen, "do you want a cup of tea?"

"Please", said Amelia as she settled herself down at the table to feed Joshua.

"Does he feed well?" asked Hermione as she busied herself making tea.

"Oh, yeah … I think so , I mean, I've not had any problems"

"That's good then"

"When did Jonas get here?"

"Oh, it would have been just after eleven, we sent him straight up to bed he looked exhausted, is he still asleep?"

"Yeah, I left him sleeping, that's why I brought Josh down here"

"Can I have a hold when you're done feeding him?" Hermione asked as she set Amelia's tea in front of her.

"Yes of course, I could use a shower if you don't mind watching him?"

"No of course not; the girls said they would come round later today"

"Which girls?"

"Your girls"

"Even Roxie?"

"Well yes, I would assume so, why?" asked Hermione confused.

"I'm not sure if I want to see her"

"But …"

"Look, mum, I'm sure she's sorry … but I just don't think I'm ready to hear it yet"

"Alright … but you know, she really is sorry?"

"I know, I just … I just don't think I can yet, OK?"

"Whatever you want", said Hermione, biting her lip slightly, she knew Roxanne would be heartbroken to learn that Amelia didn't want to see her yet; "you want to see Lucie and Vicky though don't you?" she asked, worried that her daughter was cutting herself off from her cousins. To her relief Amelia nodded; "yes, I owe Vicky an apology … and I owe Romilda one too, I can see her can't I?" she asked. Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat and didn't answer straight away; "mum? I can see Romilda can't I?"

"Yes … but, you know … you're father and I haven't seen her since you ran away"

"Why?!"

"Because … it was just too hard for me to be around her knowing that you had confided in her and not me, I know it's stupid, it was unfair of me … but the longer time went by the harder it was for me to swallow my pride … so I've avoided her"

"Oh mum! Now I feel horrible; you and Romilda were such good friends …"

"I know, and hopefully we can be again, now you're home"

"I hope so … look mum, you know I didn't actually confide in her, she walked in on me and Vicky when I did the test, she insisted that I tell you but I begged her to keep quiet until I had told Jonas, and she did … it wasn't her fault mum, she was just doing what I asked her"

"I'll talk to her Milly I promise, everything will be alright; and everything will be alright with you and Roxie if you just give her a chance …"

"I know mum … just not yet OK? I have enough to think about"

"Alright", said Hermione, sensing that she should drop the 'Roxie' subject.

Amelia walked into her bedroom wrapped in a fluffy towel, having enjoyed a lengthy shower courtesy of her mother looking after Joshua for her; she smiled as she saw Jonas yawn and stretch before smiling over at her; "morning", he said sleepily. "Morning to you too", she replied with a smile; "did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Always do when I'm next to you", he replied, "c'mere", he added, holding his arm out, inviting her to join him on the bed; she obliged after swapping her towel for her dressing gown. She snuggled against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "How are things with your parents?" she asked.

"Not great, mum won't stop crying and dad can't seem to bring himself to speak to me"

"That's terrible!" she said, propping herself up so she could look at his face.

"I'll get over it; I have you and Josh. How are your folks?"

"They're great, still in shock I think, but they've accepted it all"

"Do they know about us being engaged?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I spoke to mum about it and she told dad; they're both happy to accept it"

"Good", he said pulling her mouth to his and kissing her deeply. When he finally released her she ginned at him; "what was that for?" she asked.

"Do I need an excuse?" he countered.

"I suppose not", she shrugged, settling back down against him, tapping her fingers absently against his chest; "the girls are coming to see us today", she said eventually.

"All of them?" he asked.

"Yeah … but I told mum I'm not ready to see Roxie"

He said nothing, simply tightening his arms around her, remembering how distraught she was after what Roxanne had said to her all those months ago.

"I feel bad", she said.

"Why?"

"Because I know how guilty she'll have been feeling …"

"So she should"

"I know what she said was awful … but she was angry"

"That's no excuse for what she said, you were so upset that night Milly"

"I know … maybe I should forgive her"

"It's up to you, I'll support whatever decision to make"

"I'm not ready to make a decision yet …"

"Then you don't have to", he said simply.

"Hmm", she agreed absently, thinking about how long it had been since she saw the girls. Just as she thought that, the sound of voices floated through the open window. She pulled herself from Jonas' grip and tugged the lace curtain slightly to the side; her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Draco had arrived with Lucretia, Octavia, Victoire and Roxanne. She let the curtain drop and bit her lip, turning back to Jonas; "they're here", she said.

"Don't worry", he said soothingly, "they'll just be pleased you're back"

"I know", she said nodding in agreement before hauling herself off the bed and pulling a floral skirt and white vest from her chest of drawers and hurridly dressing. Jonas followed her lead, pulling on pair of surfer shorts and a blue t shirt. Amelia turned to the mirror to pull her hair up into a bun as a knock sounded on the door, Jonas moved to open it and smiled when he saw Hermione on the other side; "morning Mrs Weasley", he said.

"Hermione please, I'm not that old", she said with a smile. He grinned. "Is Milly dressed?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, come in", said Jonas, opening the door wide.

"Hey", said Hermione to Amelia, who smiled back, "I just thought I'd let you know the girls are here … including Roxie; I'll ask her to leave if you like? It's up to you Milly, but she really is sorry, she's been so worried about you". Amelia bit her lip and looked from her mother to Jonas, who shrugged, she took a deep breath and sighed in defeat; "I don't want her to go", she said finally.

"She'll be so glad … come down whenever you're ready", said Hermione, giving her a quick squeeze before exiting the room. Jonas' arm was around her in an instant; "you ready?" he asked, not even questioning her decision regarding Roxanne. She nodded; "as I'll ever be", he grinned and gave her a quick peck on the lips before gesturing for her to lead the way.

Amelia peered around the door to the kitchen where everyone was gathered; her Aunt Ginny was holding Joshua and her and her mother were fussing over him. Her Uncle Draco was stood slightly apart from them, watching them with a slight smirk playing about his lips. The girls were stood nervously against the kitchen counter, as though unsure about what to do with themselves. Amelia decided it was about time she put them out of their misery and she took a deep breath and pushed the door open, stepping into the kitchen. For a heartbeat no one moved and then the three girls flew at her screaming and exclaiming things she could barely decipher; as the three of them threw their arms around her she found herself safely assuming that they were screams of joy; she laughed as she tried to hug them all at once. "Let her breath", Draco called sharply, although the underlying tone was that of amusement. The girls obliged, releasing her from their triple embrace. As soon as they did so Roxanne placed her hand on her upper arm; "I am so sorry Milly", she said, her eyes shining with tears of sincerity. Amelia nodded; "I know", she said, before enveloping her in a reassuring hug. All the tension of the room lifted as of that moment and the girls sent tentative smiles in Jonas' direction, which he returned, as Amelia was embraced by her Aunt and Uncle. "Right", said a clearly relieved Hermione, "Ron should be home soon and it's such a wonderful day, how about lunch outside?" she asked the group as a whole. Everyone agreed enthusiastically and everyone pitched in to make sandwiches and other treats and Hermione cast a sun protection charm over Joshua, something that Amelia and Jonas expressed their gratitude for. As soon as Ron arrived home from work the food was moved outside and the small congregation went out to eat. They enjoyed their meal in a mostly comfortable silence, no one quite sure what to say, but all glad to be enjoying one another's company once again.

After lunch Amelia excused herself and the girls and they retreated to the end of the garden and took shelter in the shade of the willow tree; Victoire conjuring a blanket for them to lay on. They were silent for a few moments before Lucretia finally spoke; "I'm really glad you're back Milly"

"Me too", Amelia agreed, a smile spreading across her face.

"I just wish you'd never gone"

"Me too", she agreed again, with a sigh.

"Why did you?" Victoire asked.

"Because of me", said Roxanne.

"No", Amelia sighed again, "not really. I don't think there was one clear reason"

"It doesn't matter now anyway", said Lucretia, "you're back, that's all that matters"

"Yeah of course", Victoire agreed, "and you have a beautiful baby"

"He really is beautiful", said Roxanne, "you're so lucky"

"I know. I never dreamed it would turn out this way when I found out about him"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Lucretia asked.

"Because I was scared, it was bad enough admitting it to myself"

"You told Vicky"

"Only because I bullied her", Victoire said with a grin.

"And Romilda"

"Technically she found out herself", Victoire corrected.

"Still …"

"I'm sorry guys. I really am, but what's done is done, I can't change anything now"

"No I know, I'm sorry, I guess I just felt a bit guilty for buying that 'failing' story", said Lucretia.

"You would never have guessed the real story"

"No, I was stunned enough", said Victoire.

"Thanks Vicky", said Amelia, "I never did thank you, and I'm sorry for all the times I snapped at you, you didn't deserve that"

"I probably did, I was being a pushy cow when you needed time to think"

"Still. Thank you"

"Anytime, but I'd rather you didn't do this again!"

Amelia couldn't help but laugh, the others joining in; "don't worry, I think I've learnt my lesson!"

"Good", said Roxanne with a grin.

"So what have I missed?" Amelia asked.

"Not all that much … all the focus has been on you", said Lucretia.

"Oh"

"But, Danny passed his apparation test", she added quickly, looking rather proud.

"Of course, I missed his birthday, you two still going strong then?"

"Yep", said Lucretia with a grin.

"Uncle Draco's even cool with it now, isn't he Luce?" said Roxanne with a wink.

"What does that mean?" asked Amelia, looking puzzled.

"It means that when my dad found out about you and the baby, he asked my mum to talk to me about contraceptive charms … basically he doesn't want to know what we're doing so long as we're doing it carefully …"

"Wow"

"Yeah, we couldn't believe it either, Uncle Draco letting his daughter have sex!" said Victoire.

"Shush!" said Lucretia giggling, "he doesn't actually let me, he doesn't want to know"

"Ignorance is bliss", said Roxanne with a grin.

"What about you and James?" asked Amelia, "are you official yet?"

"Yep"

"Have you …?"

"No, not yet … we're waiting a while longer …"

"Good for you Roxie. And Vicky, you and Teddy?"

"Teddy is in Brazil at the moment", Victoire answered.

"Oh of course, his trip, how is he finding it?"

"Oh he loves it, I join him for the odd weekend when I can afford to go"

"Must be nice"

"Yeah …"

The girls lapsed into comfortable silence once again as they enjoyed the warm rays of the late afternoon sun. It felt good to the four of them to be together again; they had Amelia back and now their close knit group felt complete once again.

They were pulled out of their blissful silence a while later as Jonas called over that Joshua was ready for his feed. Amelia sat up at once and wandered back over to where the rest of the group were still sat round the table. The other three sat up to watch her go, smiles on their faces as they saw how Jonas gently passed the baby to her before settling down next to her and putting a protective arm around her as she nursed Joshua. The girls let out a collective "aww" as Jonas kissed the side of her head tenderly. "They're so in love", said Lucretia wistfully.

"I can't believe they're getting married", said Victoire.

"Me neither, I was sure you and Teddy would be first"

"Us?! Really?! My money was on you and Danny!"

"Really?! You and Teddy have been together way longer"

"Yeah, but you and Danny were made for each other, you've been in love since you were kids"

"Excuse me!" interrupted Roxanne, "I can't help but realise that no one had their money on me being the first to get married!"

"Maybe Milly did?" said Lucretia with a grin.

"Who was your money on anyway?" asked Victoire.

"Honestly? Danny and Lucie."

As the afternoon turned into early evening more of the family arrived to welcome Amelia and Jonas home and meet baby Joshua. More food was prepared and Draco and Charlie disappeared for a time, returning with a plentiful supply of wine and champagne to officially 'wet the baby's head', something Hermione assured them was custom in the muggle word. Everyone was sceptical at first but Dean and Seamus backed her up. Hermione finally swallowed her pride and apologised to Romilda, who in turn apologised to her, it took a good half an hour to calm the pair of them down; both in hysterics over the whole situation. Baby Joshua was passed from person to person, everyone exclaiming over how perfect he was, Amelia and Jonas seemed to glow with pride at each new compliment. Lucretia finally got her turn to hold him as Danny arrived back from his amateur quidditch match, he came up behind her and kissed her temple as she gazed down at the baby, lost in her own world. "Oh, you're here", she said looking up and beaming at him. "Anyone else see a glimpse into the future?" said George, loudly enough for Draco to hear him. Ginny rolled her eyes. "The not so distant future", added Charlie, cottoning on to what George was attempting to do. "There's something missing from that picture though", said Draco sauntering over to them. "And what would that be Draco?" George asked with a mischievous grin. "Wedding rings", Draco replied firmly. Charlie and George laughed as did Ginny despite herself; "it would be nice to have grandchildren though wouldn't it Draco?" she said, clutching her husbands arm. "Not for at least another ten years darling", he retorted smoothly, leading his wife towards his eldest daughter and her boyfriend, who were both now completely absorbed in the baby settled in her arms. "Where are we going?" asked Ginny suspiciously. "To take that baby away from Lucie before she get's any ideas", he said simply. Ginny laughed as she heard her daughters voice float towards her; "isn't he beautiful Danny?" she cooed, "I can't wait until we have children", she continued. Draco's pace suddenly picked up and Ginny had to fight back more laughter. "Yeah, let's give it a few years yeah Luce?" Danny replied as Draco and Ginny reached them. "Right answer", said Draco approvingly to his Godson, Danny grinned and Lucretia pouted; "don't look at me like that Lucie", Draco said, "I'd like a wedding first if you don't mind; now pass me my great nephew, I haven't had a hold yet". Lucretia obliged, passing Joshua to her father who wandered aimlessly away with him, telling him that he shouldn't be encouraging his daughter to be a teenage mother. Ginny and Lucretia rolled their eyes at his retreating back; "he forgets his own wife was a teenage mother" said Ginny, "as was his mother …"

"Yes but you were married", Lucretia giggled.

"I was already pregnant with you when we got married", Ginny said quietly.

"Ha! So he wouldn't really have any reason to object then!"

"I wouldn't try him", said Ginny in mock warning.

"I won't. But still, it's funny, hey Danny did you hear that?"

"What babe?" asked Danny, looking as though he'd recently been dazed.

"Did you not hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That my mum was already … oh never mind, where did you get to anyway?"

"I was right here"

"Yes, in body only, your mind was completely off somewhere else"

"Sorry babe, I was still recovering from your dad giving his blessing to us getting married one day!" Lucretia left and went on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"You're the only man he'd allow to marry Lucie", said Ginny, "it's Octavia I feel sorry for, she doesn't have a 'Danny', he'll probably send the poor girl to a nunnery"

"What's a nunnery?" asked Lucretia, frowning slightly.

"I'll let you take this one Danny, I have a baby to hold", she said wandering off to find her husband.

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know if any of you are still actually reading! xx


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